Why you should go on vacation with your brother once a year

As a child, I was angry with my older sister for a while. She was a girl and not a boy, and I thought that was stupid. I wanted a brother.

Preferably an older brother. A big brother. But okay, if that wasn't possible anymore, then a little brother... No. I got another sister. So two sisters. I was furious with my mother. I looked enviously at friends who did have a brother, brothers who always protected their sisters when needed. Brothers who had cool friends that you could fall in love with. Brothers who were so nice and handsome that all your friends were in love with him and you were super proud because only you were his sister.

About 80 percent of people grow up with a brother or sister – we often live with a sibling in our early years more than with a biological father, according to statistics. And brothers and sisters are important for a child's social and mental development. They are almost as important as a father and mother, according to psychologists, because they play more with a brother or sister.

If you're lucky enough to have a brother, make sure to go on vacation with him every year. Plan it now, so at least it will happen in 2020. Because it's very important:

1.  Your brother is a man. And men generally talk very little about their feelings and their lives. On a vacation, maybe more will come out than ‘damn, Ajax lost.’.
2.  Your brother knows you. And you know him. But you both have busy lives, which means you sometimes know each other a little less in daily life. Take that time together.
3. With a brother, you're guaranteed to have fun: just count on drinking 76 beers on the beach.
4. A brother is always up for some mischief, pranks, or a joke here and there. You certainly won't be bored, even if you go to Hubbekutteveen.
5. Brothers have the wildest stories to tell about women, parties, friends. Wonderful.
6. Brothers ensure that you do different things on vacation than you would normally do. Think of bungee jumping, kitesurfing, water skiing. You suddenly have to join. You suddenly eat grasshoppers and wagyu beef. And secretly, it's pretty cool to have done such things together.
7.  Your brother is your friend for life. What could be better than sharing life together now, somewhere on top of the mountain, lounging on the white beach, or among the koalas in Australia?

By now, I'm not so angry anymore. I'm secretly quite happy with a big and a little sister. I've been able to borrow quite a few clothes and have some good conversations. Just stay who you are, okay? I'll get into mischief with my sons. And otherwise, we still have dad.