How to raise children who are more than 5 years apart in age?

[Anonymous]

How can I raise them to feel close, to be friends, to have things in common?

[Anonymous]

How old are they?

[Anonymous]

My sister and I are 6 years apart. Until we were adults, we were never really super close, as we were always in different stages of life growing up. I believe we became friends as adults because we have a loving family who have always made an effort to spend time together, support each others' interests, and be respectful of each other. While my sister and I couldn't always relate to each other as kids/teens, we've always loved each other. Kind of like your mom or dad can't always be your friend, sometimes a sibling is a sibling and not a buddy or a friend. It's difficult to articulate, but I guess I'd say while I haven't always known my sister as well as I've known some of my friends, I have always felt I would do anything in the world for her. Don't stress if your children don't/can't play together all the time, but look for opportunities to bring them together in the familiy setting or where common interests exist. Don't limit your older child's time with the younger child to times when you need him/her to babysit for the younger sibling - then it becomes a burden for both. Encourage the older sibling to teach the younger sibling about things s/he loves to do.

Not sure if this helps, but it's my two cents...

[Anonymous]

I think raise them the way you would any other siblings. You can't guarantee siblings will be close even if they are close in age. Instill in them the same core values you would with younger siblings - love, friendship, kindness, ect. My sister and I are 5 years apart and my best friend and her brother are 8 years apart. But we are both close with our siblings. Even though we went through different stages of childhood at different times, we developed our own sense of camaraderie by doing family trips and family event. I would also encourage your kids to be friendly to each other even when they are at very different stages in life. When I was 11 and my sister was 16 you couldn't have had two more different children - I was shy and still playing with Barbie dolls and my sister was very outgoing and into boys and sports. But my parents always told us to at least be nice to each other even when we had nothing in common at times. Now my sister is my best friend.

My boys are 6 years apart, so I worry about them being close as well. I will just try to instill in them what my parents did with us.