When my family moved to Denver back in the ’80s, there was a short time when the only friends my sisters and I had were each other. We moved frequently and had a stint like this after each relocation, or on family vacations, or on long, boring summer days. We would play together for a while, make each other giggle, annoy each other, fight outrageously, go to our rooms to cool off, and then end up right back where we started, playing an endless game of Slap-Jack and trying to make each other laugh.
Even when we had found our circle of outside friends, that was the cycle of our relationship—hilarious laughter, minor annoyances, ridiculous fights, and quiet contentedness. We were lucky, and still are, to have weathered the sibling quarrels and drift over the years and still have each other’s backs.
As research for the feature “Sibling S.O.S.,” writer and mom of two Lydia Rueger asked a variety of parents about their greatest fears and challenges related to their kids’ sibling relationships. The number one response was that they feared the kids wouldn’t be close as adults; that the fights and rivalry or indifference towards each other in childhood would be an indication of, or detriment to, their future relationship. Rueger spoke to parents with grown children and consulted experts for advice. Learn more about what is behind these complex sibling relationship challenges and how to navigate them. Hint: It has nothing to do with number of kids or years between them.
This issue also includes advice for transitioning sleep schedules when we “spring forward” for Daylight Saving Time, a roundup of local kids clothing boutiques, insider information for Colorado newcomers, and more than 150 ideas for family fun this month.
