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Brothers and sisters can go from being allies to enemies in the space of a few minutes. Managing our relationships with them can be difficult and your place in the family is likely to have an impact on this.

I’m the oldest

This can be tough as you may feel like you have to be the responsible one, to set an example to your younger brothers and sisters, to do more chores, to be the grown-up. Your younger siblings might irritate or embarrass you, they might want to copy the way you look, what you do, and to tag along when they’re not wanted.

On the other hand, you can bask in the knowledge that you are the oldest and the most mature. Maybe you can negotiate a reasonable amount of responsibility and at the same time negotiate some of the rights which can go with your age.

I’m the middle child

Being in the middle can be hard, you might feel like you’re sandwiched in too tight and it can feel really important to get noticed. This can be upsetting, but remember to try and get noticed for the right reasons! And remember, life doesn’t need to be a competition – you are great, just as you are.

I’m a younger sibling

Being the youngest can be great – everyone looks after you, but it can make it harder to grow up if everyone expects you to still be the baby. Another advantage of being the youngest is that your parents have learnt to be more relaxed in their parenting because they’ve done it all before with your older siblings

I have step-siblings or half-siblings

It's a fact of life that parents get divorced and sometimes they will find a new partner who already has children or will have new children together. This can be difficult, but with time you can learn how to get along and live together, just take it one step at a time.

I don’t have enough space!

You may be lucky enough to live in a mansion with a whole wing to yourself, but for most of us, living in a family means negotiating space, be it TV time, bedroom space or time in the bathroom. Arguing rarely helps at times like this - you’re more likely to get at least some of what you want if you discuss it with your sibling(s) and try to reach some sort of compromise. Check out this Siblings Survival Guide.

If you have a question or you are unsure about anything then ask Talksafe by clicking here.

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Links

TheSite: Siblings survival guide

Last review: 19/05/11 - Next review: 19/05/13