During the pandemic people are encouraged to stay home and stay safe. High schoolers must adapt to online classes and many must also adapt to taking care of  and spending more time with younger siblings.

With more time home, younger siblings get more time to hang around their older siblings. Many younger siblings look up to their older brothers and sisters as inspiration. Young kids being homebound means that they often need someone to spend time with so they don’t feel lonely; older siblings are a great option for them. Older siblings also have more experience with technology so they can help the younger brothers and sisters get used to their online classes. Keeping younger siblings distracted can be a challenge as well keeping them out of trouble, especially if a sibling is under the age of seven.

It is important to keep the amount of time siblings have with each other and alone time balanced so that they don’t get bored of each other. One factor that greatly affects the relationship between siblings is age gaps. Depending on how large the age gap, siblings will develop different relationships. Siblings with a smaller age gap tend to be closer in going through the same stages of life, but also tend to have a fair share of conflict. With a bigger age gap siblings can tend to have a much different relationship where the older sibling commonly develops empathy and protection for the younger sibling.

From personal experiences I have a sister in 2nd grade who is 10 years younger than me. It’s difficult to relate socially due to the fact that we both experience very different things and our personalities are very different, but we are still very close. I’m not too sociable due to being an only child half my life, but I did what I could to make sure my sister developed the social skills I didn’t. She is very important to me and I would protect her at all costs. During this time it’s been rough to do classes while keeping her distracted. We both support each other and make sure each other does well in subjects but there are constant feuds over small things that arise due to being stuck in the same house 24/7 with little time to ourselves. In the end, we still love each other, and she adores doing similar things I do out of fondness and interest and she can be very sweet. 

     Keeping siblings and family members safe and occupied is important at this time. In families with busy parents, younger siblings need their older brothers and sisters the most. According to Fatherly.com older siblings play one of the biggest parts of a young one’s development and socialization, too, having major influences.