Friday, March 21, 2008

Sibling Rivalry in NYT

by Teresa

My children are best friends who love each other completely.  Really, this is true.  They’re good kids who often share things with each other, even if they don’t “have” to share.  When my son walks out of the school building when kindergarten lets out, they RUN across the playground to hug each other.

But still.  We are definitely not immune to moments of sibling rivalry in my house!  We’ve heard things like “I don’t want him near me!“ and “I wish I didn’t even have a sister!“ and “I hate you!“  These comments are usually shouted when one scribbles on the other’s artwork, or knocks over a Littlest Pet Shop village, or destroys a painstakingly-created Lego plane. 

Now that I’m a parent, I really have a new understanding of how my brother and I must have tried my parents’ patience. 

A video posted on the New York Times website this week got me thinking about the things I used to do to my brother, when we were younger.  I won’t embarrass myself or him by detailing those escapades here.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, like many siblings, by the time we were teenagers, my relationship with my brother was greatly improved (my parents might even tell you that we became partners in crime.  They might tell you stories about parties in the house when they were out of town.  I’m not admitting or denying anything here.)  When I see my brother these days, there’s certainly no more name-calling or shouting “I hate you!“  I assume the same will be true of my kids, someday.  Perhaps they’ll grow up and the closest they’ll come to conflict in their adult years will be vigorous debates about political candidates.

Anyway.  To the video.  A New York Times camera crew recorded people’s stories about sibling rivalry.  You can click here to see it.  (The video was a sidebar piece to an article about an author who had apparently faked her recently-published memoir; her lies were uncovered when her own sister revealed the truth about their upbringing—yikes!  Now THAT is some serious sibling conflict!  To see that column, click here .)