My Kids Are Becoming Best Friends

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siblingsI can vividly remember sitting on the couch one night going through old pictures on my phone of my daughter and bawling my eyes out. I was 7 months pregnant with her little brother and I was terrified.

How was I going to possibly feel this immense love that I had for her with another baby?

How was I going to find the time to give her what she needed while also handling a newborn?

How would they interact once he was older?

Would they be friends?

Would she resent the amount of attention he took off of her?

The Sibling Bond

If you are in this predicament, I am here to tell you to take some deep breaths. Not only will you have that same exploding love for another, but you’ll also get to witness the pure and unmatched love siblings have for each other and that has been one of the greatest things to be a part of. 

Photography by the wonderful Lav & Lime Studio

My kids are almost three years apart and while I think any age difference has its own pros and cons, I’ve truly enjoyed theirs. They are now almost two and almost five and are starting to really bond with one another. They have become one another’s best friends and are really starting to play together and enjoy one another’s company.

Here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way of my kids becoming each other’s number one fans: 

Teaching them to show love towards each other works

From the beginning, they have said good night to each other every night. Usually with a hug and an “I love you.” One night, my youngest went to bed while my oldest was still in the bathtub. When she realized her brother went to bed without saying goodnight to her, she became extremely upset. “I always say goodnight to my brother!” We vowed to try to not let that happen again. 

For Christmas or birthdays one gift is from one another. My oldest loves to pick out the gift for her brother. (The two-year-old obviously doesn’t know the difference yet, but it has shown thoughtfulness from the older.) As a matter of fact, today we were at the store just her and I and I told her she could pick out a toy. She immediately said, “I should pick out something for my brother too.” Heart. Melt. 

Make Time for Personal Space 

Now with all the lovey doveyness they have, they clearly don’t show this all day every day. Some days are constantly, “Mooommmm, he took that from me!” or “Go away!! I’m using this!” And that’s okay. Because everyone needs personal space and his own time too. I try to make sure that happens enough throughout the day to know they have to respect each other’s boundaries. 

 

 

One invades personal space a little more than the other, can you tell?

Don’t Compare Them 

I constantly remind myself they are two separate humans with very (and I mean very) different personalities. What upsets one, does not upset the other and vice versa. One needs a little more personal space than the other. One does not like all the same things the other does whether it’s food or toys or TV shows. I remind myself to not only encourage their differences and likes and dislikes but to also show them to encourage each other’s differences as well. 

I’m loving watching the sibling bond grow between them. I love the age gap and I’m excited to continue to watch that bond grow. 

What is your kid’s age gaps? Are they best friends? 

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Jessica
Jessica is a stay-at-home mama to an energetic and non-stop talking four year old little girl named Ava and the sweetest yet ornery little one year boy named Eli. She runs on espresso shots and cold coffee and feels like she's on a vacation when she gets a solo trip to Target. She's been married to her husband PJ for almost 8 years. They have lived everywhere from Minneapolis to Houston but ultimately ended up in the heart of Des Moines where she is enjoying her busy, chaotic and beautiful life.

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