The Older Brothers: Between Superheroes And Close Friends

Older brothers are always a bit of superheroes, although some say (rightly) that they are also super villains sometimes. That special position of being the first child  usually brings with it a lot of privilege, but also a lot of burdens or added difficulties. With him parents learn, often through trial and error, the arduous task of parenting and with him children also learn to “be great.”

Older siblings are the ones who open the way for those who follow in age. They are the ones who have to go to school for the first time, alone. Thus, they will tell the others how to face the first day or they will be attentive to save them from any risk if they share the same educational center. They are the ones who train minors on the best way to play or to design a perfect braid in their hair. They mark the trail.

The usual thing is that these older siblings become a kind of extension of the mother and father figure , all at the same time. They are in some way responsible when the parents are not there. But since they are neither the one nor the other, they also end up being close friends and cover-ups for misdeeds.

Older siblings and taking care of the little ones

The first thing that many parents instill in older siblings is that they are an example to the little ones. This, in more direct words, means that you will be watched more closely and there will be less tolerance for your actions. He is the one who must face the risks, before the others. It is also the one who is forced to accompany others to take care of them and, more or less, to answer for them.

Now the laws have been tightened in this regard, but just a few decades ago it was not uncommon for an 8-year-old to take care of a 5-year-old. It varies from family to family, but in almost all of them, parents tend for the oldest to assume part of their parenting responsibilities. This gives older siblings special authority, but also injects pressure and sometimes anguish.

An older brother who feels overloaded with responsibilities or unfairly treated with respect to others, can develop different character problems. He can pay with  minors for the excessive burden he carries on his shoulders  or, if he is very afraid of his parents, he will fight to annul himself rather than harm the care of his siblings.

It is usual for older people to develop a fear of breaking the rules. Especially when parents frequently emphasize that they are in charge of enforcing them. That is why they tend to be artificially more conservative and mature faster.

What only older siblings know

Only older siblings can experience and understand what it feels like in certain situations. For the other brothers, in truth, they will always be a bit of the superheroes. It is true that sometimes they take advantage of their position, but they are also that savior who appears from time to time to rescue the little one from something fatal. The other brothers adore them and detest them at the same time. But whatever the circumstance, they become a benchmark.

These are some of the realities that make them unique:

• Even in old age, the other siblings expect you to act as guardians or protectors with them.
• They have to learn to give up toys, liberties and whims, depending on their younger siblings.
• It is difficult for them to understand that minors win a game or achieve a breakthrough before them.
• They know, deep down, that they were the guinea pig in several failed experiments of their parents.
• They grant themselves the right to martyr minors, but they will never allow that to be done by a stranger.
• They brag to the boys for the rights they acquire when they enter adolescence.

They reduced the danger for us and offered us a lifeline in countless moments of childhood. It was to them that we were able to confess a serious fault and they served as a bridge to deal with the parents. They have defended, cared for and encouraged us. They are, without a doubt, one of the pillars on which we were able to grow.