In the modern era, couples are opting for two children or
even one. Gone are the days when a couple would like to have seven to ten
children. This notion is considered backdated and inconvenient for a family in
today's world. While this concept is well and good, the purpose of this article
is to show why older siblings in a family can actually make things easier,
which is why they are so important.
Elder siblings give company and look after younger ones in
respect of bathing, feeding, clothing and telling them bedtime stories, putting
them to sleep. That way elders get a sense of responsibility from a young age.
The younger ones feel a lot of love and care. The elder ones can guide and
train the younger siblings in their education as well without having parents to
intervene. They help to give a strong foundation in their siblings' education
provided their parents did the same for them.
When parents are away, siblings have each other to find
comfort and solace in their absence. They bond to each other more closely. They
can share not only household activities for example, cleanliness and
maintenance but also have fun activities for instance, watching their favorite
TV serial and having popcorn together, ordering pizzas from the comfort of
their home and treating themselves and watching a good movie together at the
same time or simply, reminisce the golden past together, talking to each other
and going over good old family albums. Of course they will fight and yell,
which is why the elder ones are there to bring everything back in control.
When elder ones leave a family, the younger ones are the
ones that bond closely to their parents and start getting a lot of parental
care. Parents also start relying on them for fun conversations or serious
talks.
If parents have an only child and both of them work, the
greater chances are that the child is ignored, malnourished and underdeveloped.
That is why it is so important to have an elder brother or sister who can take
care of the younger one in lonely times, guide him/her as well as give a warm,
loving company, which is so much vital for the child's health and happiness.
For these reasons, in my opinion, when a couple starts to
think about family planning, they had better opt for having two children, which
is ideal and coherent with what I have been talking all along for instance, the
elder one helping out and caring for the younger one, giving him or her a good
company, which working parents cannot always strive to cater for, as well as
the notion going along well with the modern era social norms. Don't you agree?
Rosina S Khan has authored this article, highlighting why it
is good for a family to decide to have more than an only child.
