Having more than two kids these days can raise a lot of
eyebrows, as I’ve found out when mentioning our four kids. But what many people
fail to realize is the many benefits to siblings are to children. A January
2014 article in the Christian Science Monitor illustrates just one of those
advantages.
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| Image courtesy of stockimages/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
“In large families, young kids can’t always get a lot of
individual attention from parents, but healthy interactions with an older
sibling might help compensate for that,” the article opens. A new study by
Canadian researchers found that when older siblings help and interact with
younger ones, it benefited both. The study’s authors admitted that more
research is needed to determine the full extent of the benefits, but the
findings of this limited data intrigued me.
Siblings are more than an annoyance to each other—they are
an integral part in how each child develops. For older siblings, schoolwork is
reinforced as they assist younger brothers or sisters to learn material they’ve
already covered in school. Reading
is strengthened as they read books to younger siblings. Leadership skills are
developed as they manage the play of multiple children of differing ages.
Having brothers and sisters can be a great advantage to your
kids, one that will be more of a positive than a negative. “Siblings really
play this very strong role in how kids come out,” said Jennifer Jenkins, the
study’s senior author. “I’d like people to think about those sibling
relationships a little bit more and then how to strengthen them.”
Until next time,
Sarah
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