Adult oldest girl and younger brother relationships?

[Anonymous]

If you are the oldest girl and you have younger brother/s at least 5 years younger (and you are married with kids while they are not) and around 35-45, what is your relationship like?

[Anonymous]

Wow...that's a very specific demographic you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Not me but my husband is the younger brother of this scenario. He and his sister are close. Don’t always see eye to eye but have a good relationship and love and respect each other.

[Anonymous]

I have to remind myself he’s an adult now, not a kid. It still doesn’t feel like we are peers. He is good natured and doesn’t seem annoyed by me though.

[Anonymous]

I am slightly younger than your age range but otherwise meet this criteria. I have multiple younger brothers and 2 of them are 5+ years younger. They live in different states.

We have a family text thread that stays fairly active. I have two young children and my brothers like to be involved with video chats and try to visit for the holidays and 1-2 other times a year. We don't usually talk 1:1 on the phone/text unless it's for a specific purpose.

[Anonymous]

Bad, it's bad.

[Anonymous]

I am ten years older than my brother and I adore him. He's one of the most talented, accomplished, and empathetic people I know.

[Anonymous]

Im 5 years older than my brother, but he had a child before I did. He’s divorced and I’m married. We text a few times a week.

We've never been super close, but things aren’t strained, either. We are very alike in some ways, exact opposites in others. We often laugh that our parents raised 2 “only” children.

[Anonymous]

I have a brother 5 years younger and another 8 years younger. I’m very close to the first (call or text most days), and get along fine with the second but we rarely talk since we live across the country and he isn’t a phone or text person.

[Anonymous]

I am the older sister. My brother is 5 years younger but has kids who are older than mine. We are super close despite living on different continents, more than we were while growing up. We stay in touch through WhatsApp messages and video calls and see each other in person every 2 years, except during the peak of Covid.

[Anonymous]

I have one brother 4 years younger and one brother 7 years younger. They are great ppl and I love them dearly but we’re not that close. We’re just very different personalities, different stages in life, and we live far away from each other. I play the stereotypical oldest daughter/surrogate parent role (calling to check on them when they’re going through a rough time, giving advice sometimes) when needed. But I also even now don’t feel like I totally accept them as actual adults. I fully expect to have to handle everything in the relationship and with our aging parents. My brothers seem like they’re still too young or self absorbed to be helpful or supportive to me in the same way I am to them.

[Anonymous]

I think the main thing here is the 5 year age difference. I’m 35 and plenty of my peers (myself included) are pretty close with younger brothers, but they’re more like 2/3 years younger

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the main thing here is the 5 year age difference. I’m 35 and plenty of my peers (myself included) are pretty close with younger brothers, but they’re more like 2/3 years younger

Agreed. I’m 40 married w kids and super close with my child free younger brother, we text each other nonstop. He’s 2.5 years younger though not 5

[Anonymous]

Pretty distant. We are polite though and don’t interact much outside of birthday messages and when we see our parents together.

[Anonymous]

Friendly and cordial, but not super close. He is working overseas at the moment; has been for several years and I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be a permanent expat. When we do chat occasionally, he asks about DS and DD and what they're up to. He's living his life and seems to be happy, so I'm happy for him.