Science says: arguing with your brothers or sisters makes you a better person

Can you still strangle your brother or sister sometimes? Yes, sorry, that's just how arguments are between siblings. You love each other, but you can also hate each other for a couple of minutes later.

With two sisters, it was usually a big fight at my home over borrowing each other's things. I would grab my big sister's new jacket from the closet, then my little sister would be wearing my sneakers again: incredibly annoying. But yes, you have to deal with each other. And luckily, it all turned out well, because I still have a very close bond with my sisters. We see each other almost every week and text every day. Very nice. Maybe it's because of those fights from the past, it turns out. Because those who can occasionally argue well with their brother or sister, would be a better person Let out a little scream, eat another Zeeuwse bolus, shake your hips, the moment we have all been hoping for is finally here.

These situations ensure that you go through considerable growth both mentally and emotionally. Precisely because you do this at a young age, you have to work mentally to save yourself in life. You develop your character and you can stand up for yourself. You know faster what you want at a later age; just handy in your further career. What also helps is that you can be yourself with your brother or sister. You can let loose and be mean, because they are always there. That gives a kind of certainty that you don't have in friendships: a friend can break off contact with you. A sister or brother can do that too, but it happens much less quickly. That's why arguing with a brother or sister can be so nice sometimes. A release.

According to researchers, an average of two times a week, chaos breaks out in families where there is more than one child still living at home. Well, believe me: now that I am a mother of two boys, I know all about it. Then it's crying over the same dinosaur again, then it's a shove or a snarl, just, out of the blue. For us, it's more like twenty times a week than two times a week, but okay. It must be the age. According to researchers, those arguments are not to be taken lightly, as they can have a deeper underlying cause. ‘The subject is usually something mundane, but often there is something beneath it. A big brother who always plays the boss, for example. Or vice versa: a little one who gets away with something that the big one is not allowed to do. Unequal treatment, therefore.’

As a mother, keep an eye on that, and if you ever bicker with your brother or sister... That's not a disaster. As long as you make up again, right?