New Study Indicates That Fighting With Your Siblings Can Cause You To Become A Better Person

Sep 02, 2018

If you had the privilege of growing up with brothers or sisters, you know how frustrating it can be when a rift comes between you. As you’ve aged, you probably told stories about how bad you used to fight with your siblings during family parties to get a laugh. Whether you’re fighting over what to watch on television, not sharing your toys, or stealing from each other, it is now believed that these fights between siblings can potentially make you a better person later on.

The research, conducted by the University of Cambridge, notes that a healthy amount of rivalry between siblings can actually be beneficial for the development of people in emotional, mental, and physical ways!

The study was done over a 5-year period, and is nicknamed “Toddlers Up.” Researchers oversaw cognitive and social types of development in 140 children that were aged 2 to 6 years old. The researchers were surprised at how much impact siblings have on the development of their brothers and sisters.

Don’t go encouraging bullying just yet, however. Sustained sibling rivalry in the study was shown to lead to potential behavioral issues and problems connecting with other humans in relationships later on. More mild, and tame types of sibling rivalry, however, were shown to produce the skills to become a better person later in life.

Results from the study were later published into a book by Dr. Clair Hughes. Hughes is a Deputy Director at the University of Cambridge and learned a lot about siblings from her studies. Hughes believes that by being combative with your siblings, you are in turn learning complicated lessons about communication and how to properly use language. She also believes that upsetting your siblings can teach them how to maintain their emotions and learn just how they impact other people with their words.

However, she warns parents to not let sibling rivalry go too far. Violence is never okay, and aggressive children will grow up to bully those around them and won't have the skills they need to maintain healthy, strong relationships with others. But don't worry about normal fights between brothers and sisters. These will help them develop the emotional and communication skills they need to function properly as an adult later in life.

What do you think about these new findings? Did you and your siblings often have rivalries? Share this with your siblings and see what they think!