1 is less fun, 2 is enough, and 3 is too much: How Many Siblings Do You Have?

about 2 years ago

I have two siblings. One has passed away, and the other can be a headache sometimes. Lol. I'm a middle child, and the truth is, nobody knows the problems of being a middle child except a middle child. I'm not bitter about it now, but I used to be.

Photo by shubham sharma on Unsplash

Well, even though I still have one brother left, it feels like I'm an only child. My younger brother doesn't like me that much anymore (he used to like me before). He hates me because I don't tolerate him. Don't get me wrong, I always support him when he is in trouble. I always welcome him when he visits me and make sure his stay will be pleasant. It's just that we have different views in life. I'm not saying I'm in the right because that would be unfair to him.

Even though he is distant from me, we still treat each other with respect. I still listen to him and try my best not to oppose his views in life.

When we were younger, he was not distant from me. It only happened when I started to distance myself from our group of friends. Maybe he thought that I left him.

Photo by Claire Press on Unsplash

My older brother, who passed away, and I used to fight when we were young, but things changed as we grew older. We became fond of each other. We even had the same group of friends at one point in our lives.

Even though it's hard being their brother because sometimes they cause trouble, I don't regret being their brother. Who am I to reject people that God has given into my life?

Now back to why it's hard being a middle child. When you're the middle child, you are not the favorite. Your father will love the eldest child, and your mother will love the youngest. At first, I thought it was just me, but my other friends who are also middle children experienced the same thing.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Middle children feel the need to prove themselves because they have this thinking that no one recognizes their value, although that is not true. Middle children also need to balance their relationship with their siblings. You can't always be with your older sibling because the younger one might get jealous. But of course, it's subjective. I'm just telling you what I experienced.

As a middle child, I also experienced always needing to let my younger and older brothers borrow my clothes. I don't mind it that much, except the two of them are constantly borrowing my clothes. The eldest doesn't want to borrow the youngest sibling's clothes because they are not that close, and the same goes for the youngest. That was before, when we were still teenagers.

Now let's go to the good things about having siblings. When you have siblings, you already have people backing you up when you're in a fight.

Siblings don't care if their sibling is in the wrong or not; they'll figure it out later. The first thing on our minds is to protect our siblings first.

Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

Aside from borrowing clothes, if you have a sibling, you can also borrow money, especially if your sibling is thrifty. I remember before, my older brother, because he always wants me to be with him when our friends are going out for a drink, he would cover my tab because he knew that I don't have that much money.

One last happy memory is talking about love life and relationships. My brothers always used to tell me about their love life and ask me for advice on what is the best thing to do. I don't know if they just find my advice effective, that's why they always seek my advice.

Photo by Sunil Damor on Unsplash

I know my story is long, and it still doesn't answer the question, 'Do I want more siblings or less?' Well, based on my story, you could probably tell that those two guys are enough for me. Hahaha! If I had more siblings, maybe our house would be in chaos! If I had less than 2, it would also mean less fun. So, I guess 2 is a good number.