I have one sister and who is nearly 5 years younger than me. Though we’re not super close in age, we’ve always been fairly close to each other, even through different seasons of life. So I knew before even having … Read More
Welcome to LPF Weekly Deals! These are our favorite, tried-and-true travel gear and home life items that have stood the test of time. With 7 people in our home or when we travel, we try to only purchase items that … Read More
It’s no secret we see a lot of benefits from family travel. And most of the time, we try to time that travel to coincide with school breaks. But occasionally, that doesn’t work. Here’s a little bit more about the … Read More
Welcome to LPF Weekly Deals! These are our favorite, tried-and-true travel gear and home life items that have stood the test of time. With 7 people in our home or when we travel, we try to only purchase items that … Read More
One of the most common questions we get is how we manage family travel on a budget. With 5 kids, it definitely requires a bit more planning and prep than just traveling as a couple. To be honest, we were … Read More
A couple years ago, we had the amazing opportunity to travel for 10 weeks during parental leave for our 4th baby. It was the first time Dan had ever had paternity leave, and we were thrilled to use it for … Read More
This post is sponsored by Camping World. All opinions are my own. When we first started RVing during the pandemic to go see high-risk family members, we knew working from our RV would be necessary. We needed a reliable internet … Read More
With 7 of us traveling, we try to pack light with a family. That means that our luggage for families also needs to be lightweight! We definitely don’t want to waste a bunch of weight on the luggage itself. We … Read More
Our older daughter is 9!! It’s a little wild to me that she only has one more year before she hits double digits. In some ways, it felt tricky to find some terrific 9 year old girl birthday gifts. She’s … Read More
I’m thrilled to announce the STRINGS FOR KIDS fall sale – use the code HAPPY FALL for 15% off through Monday, September 20th! What Is Strings For Kids? Strings For Kids is an online, introductory violin course for young children … Read More
For the first time in 7 years, I’m not teaching any of my kids music at home. (Well, actually that’s a lie. I just started my just-turned-4 year old on the violin. So I’m teaching him a bit. But we’re … Read More
One perk of traveling on your birthday is you get to celebrate twice! Our 4th kiddo, A, turned 4 while we were in the Virgin Islands last week and has been SOOO excited for months. Like, I’ve never seen a … Read More
I have one sister and who is nearly 5 years younger than me. Though we’re not super close in age, we’ve always been fairly close to each other, even through different seasons of life. So I knew before even having kids that that was something I wanted to do all I could to foster close sibling relationships in my own kids, too.
Fast forward to 5 kiddos ages 10 and under and almost nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids be friends with each other. I am just so darn grateful they have each other to rely on and to laugh with.
Here are 4 things that have really helped my kids strengthen those sibling relationships!
There’s something about putting in effort together that really builds friendship (or maybe solidarity? 😜). Whenever my kids do chores together or work on a project together or even work on a mutual difficult activity together (like going to orchestra practice), they seem to bond.
They learn to rely on each other and trust each other to pull their weight, and it’s really special to see. They learn to communicate about how to divide up responsibilities or about how to do things together. It often means lots of time to chat. Plus, nothing unîtes people like a common enemy, and sometimes if it’s work they don’t want to do, we parents are exactly that!
On the flip side, unstructured play is also super important! I of course don’t want all their memories together to be of doing hard things.
While it’s wonderful when my kids can accomplish specific tasks together, having time to dream and be creative together is really special. I love seeing their minds expand as they create Magna Tile or LEGO worlds, or when they cut out random pieces of plastic to make stuffed animal parachutes (and swords 😏).
There’s something about open-ended play that allows them to see each other’s creativity and insights and rely on each other in a whole new way. It’s fun to have fun! And play creates so many neural connections, not just inside themselves, but with each other. They’re literally building connected brain pathways and it is beautiful to see.
Some of my most salient family memories, and the times my sister and I were closest, came through travel. That’s also true for my husband and his 4 siblings. Being in novel places and situations (sometimes uncomfortable) is just so valuable for relying on and trusting each other. It also creates time and space to just talk and imagine without the distractions of everyday life, fighting over toys, and taking care of normal responsibilities.
But this is also something that can easily happen without leaving your city! One year when my husband’s mom lost her job, their family did a staycation in their city. They adventured every day to new parks and hikes and activities. Some of them cost money (like museums), but most of them were free. They packed their own sandwiches and sometimes took the bus. It was very low-cost but one of his favorite family “trips” because they found so many nearby gems and they had so much time with each other. In some ways, it was even better than a trip to somewhere else because there was none of the stress of packing and travel and they just got to build memories together.
There’s nothing like a good strong tradition to remind me of home and my sister. They’re the things that only we remember, possibly even more than our parents. And we especially love the ones we helped create!
My kids are now the same. As they’ve gotten older, they love helping DO the traditions instead of just benefitting from them. Once October 1st hits, they love putting out all the Halloween books and decorations. They look forward to helping with a couple of specific Thanksgiving dishes that they’re in charge of. They have certain songs they play on the speakers while we clean up dinner.
I love how traditions create family connections and are really most fun when done together. And they don’t need to be elaborate! One of my husband’s family traditions was making pistachio Jell-O pudding – super simple but something they all loved and got to enjoy together!
As wonderful as it is to do fun things together, it’s been so good for my kids to also be able to pursue individual interests. It helps them (and us!) to recognize them as their own little people who aren’t just part of a sibling group. It lets them practice being happy for each other in their own pursuits and recognize that everyone has their turn for attention and support. Plus, it lets them get a break from each other! The old saying of “absence makes the heart grow fonder” can definitely be true for periods of time with sibling relationships.
Plus, having their own activities helps them not resent being thrown into the same stuff all together. I helps them know we love THEM instead of just a generic love for all our children. And it allows them to celebrate each other as individuals, too.
Those are just a few things that have helped my kids be close to each other as siblings. Of course, at the end of the day, it’s up to THEM whether they choose to put in the effort to be close now and when they’re adults, but I sure hope these things help. I’d love to hear some tips that have been great for your family, too!
