I kind of wonder how having siblings would change the dynamic. In fighting for attention from the mother a child may not have a secure relationship with the mother, but this child may grow up with a competitive edge, or with an expectation for what failure is like, so they maybe have a better awareness of the world.
I think that this is a very good point. Although I am a single child, I would understand the pressure that a child has to be better one. The child would constantly want get a sense of admiration and thus would be competitive against the other sibling. Having a sibling would therefore change the childs way of viewing the world, especially towards people.
I agree. Having siblings forces you to compare yourself in the fight for attention. There is constant pressure to prevent being considered the lesser child. The positive side to having siblings is the competitive edge. There is always that race to see who will win and who can do it better.
I agree with you. I have a younger brother, so I would always have to be my best to show that I'm a good sister. And sometimes I would also pressure myself to be better because I want my mom to like tell me that I'm doing a good job or something like that. So I feel like having a sibling is definitely changing how I view the world.
I agree that having siblings may have an impact but how it affects the infant might differ in attachment styles. In my case, I have an older sister and a younger brother and when my brother wasn't born I learned alot of new things over the shoulder a little earlier than my peers. Even when my younger brother was born, I don't think I cared too much for attention but rather took care of my infant brother. Competition for attention may have correlations with having siblings and it might differ in attachment styles and the number of siblings, or even personality of each individual.
I think that's very interesting not only from the sibling's perspective. I could only imagine how a mother would handle having two young siblings. How would she decide how to spend time with her children? I know parents say they don't have a favorite child, but I'm sure they really do.
As someone who is a fraternal twin, I find this theory even more relevant because there is not only a fight for attention, but also differences in simultaneous growth. Being the same age all the time lends itself to a continuing challenge, like who can walk first or talk first or essentially get to any goal before the other. After being a part of the progression from the inside, I think an outside view of the twin evolution would be rather interesting.
i definitely think that the child would be more competitive, though i don't think being aware of the world factors into it as much. in fact, i think the child would focus more on attention and not be able to explore the world the way an only child would
This isn't a positive influence entirely. Some siblings might feel immediately defeated after little or no competition at all, admitting to being the lesser of the two, and see no tangible reason to compete further. Voluntarily giving up the search for attention at a young age trains the child to escape competitions later in life due to inexperience, stress, and undeveloped confidence.
I agree with all of the above--but it also might be interesting to look at how siblings get attached to each other (specifically, twins). Being the same age means that most of their milestones will be met simultaneously, and if they grow accustomed to having a companion, it might effect the development of thier independence skills later in life.
I somewhat agree, but I don't think the competition would be as severe as it sounds, unless both children were around the same age and/or really sought attention. I think in most cases one of the siblings understands to some extent that the other sibling requires more care. The case you put forward is completely plausible, though. I think it really just depends on the personality of the child.
