Heart4kidsadvocacyforum's Blog

I really cannot begin to share with you how important the bonding development is between siblings because it is so near and dear to my heart!  I am so appreciative to my parents for the way in which they raise the five of us to have a loving and caring relationship with each other.  They taught us how vital it was to always stand up for each other when any of us are challenged with a situation or circumstances that might cause us to need the kind of support that can only come from “family”.  I know that no matter what I encounter in life, I can count on my brothers and sisters to come to my aid.  Emotionally and spiritually, I cannot tell you how powerful and grounded it has made my life.  As children we were taught that the bond between us was special and unique and that we were invincible when we came together to solve a problem or come to each other’s aid. 

We were the Galloway Clan, and we took care of each other as children and still do to this day as adults.  It is important for us as parents to instill this bond of love, respect, and allegiance among the siblings in their family unit.  It teaches children the value and importance of being a loving human being.  It teaches children the value of loving and being loved as a foundation of what to expect for in a loving relationship when they embark on dating as well as what to expect in the quality of friendships they form.  Yes, it is not the same kind of love, and we know there are many types of love, but this love that abides in our family unit sets the foundation for becoming a loving human being.

In our society today, we are engulfed in developing our species to be independent and self-sufficient and this is important!  At the same time our human design calls for us to also be interdependent with one another.  This interdependence is not an either-or choice, it is an element of our character development that should be in alignment, harmony, and balance.  We want our children to become strong, independent thinkers and doers, but at the same time we want the family unit to be built on the trust and “knowingness”, that we are intertwined in a good way with one another’s life.  Not all children have siblings, but when there is a psychological and emotional need to have that kind of relationship, they find a way to develop that relationship with perhaps a cousin or friend that is willing and open to being a suricate sibling.  A wonderful example is how my Niki decided that as an only child, her cousins-Robin-Joshua- and Leilani, were in fact her siblings.  Lucky for Niki, they love her so much they fully embraced the relationship.

There are of course children that feel perfectly fine with being the only child and they are healthy emotionally and spiritually without a sibling.  This conversation though is to bring to light that as families with children, you might think about what you want the relationship between your children to look like and feel like.  On a spiritual plane the relationship between siblings was meant to be eternal, unconditional, based on love, compassion, respect, and an intuitive language of “knowingness”.  Perhaps at another time I will share some of the things our parents did that nurtured our relationship as siblings!

Just food for thought!