Siblings: Sometimes you just gotta hate 'em

EXCERPT:
A sibling, of course you know, is a brother or sister. Eighty-two percent of people in Western countries have at least one or the other.That means that the remaining 18 percent are only-child individuals looking for someone else to blame for all their feelings of inadequacy, like only-child Anthony Hopkins, who ate all those poor people on that movie set. And though most siblings don’t gobble each other up, they do tend to give each other indigestion. “Approximately one-third of adults describe their relationship with a brother or sister as rivalrous or distant.”

It seems the word sibling is usually accompanied by the noun rivalry. Cain and Abel are the first case of a family feud gone very wrong. The biblical brothers of Joseph didn’t behave any better when out of jealousy they sold him into slavery. Yet his fate was good compared to Fredo’s, Michael Corleone’s brother in The Godfather. Bang!

Sometimes it’s just rough putting up with family. There’s been many a family gathering where I felt the turkey was the luckiest one at the table, while all present had other bones to pick.
Our siblings usually play a very big part in shaping us: either we admire them and try to be like them, we are jealous and... READ MORE in THE WORDS THAT SHAPED ME

How to Talk to Kids

Journalist and author Aliza Davidovit is out to change the world one WORD at a time, hence the title of her new book, The Words That Shaped Me. But as a working professional woman with no children of her own the question arises, who is she trying to change the world for? Davidovit says for her nephews and nieces and little cousins. As a wordsmith, Davidovit recognizes how important words are in shaping young children. She says that words are like time release capsules which either sustain us or poison us as we go. Thus, as a role model to these young children and a journalist who has interviewed the world's most famous personalities, Davidovit makes sure that everything she puts in writing are words that better the world. She highlights the positive in all her articles. She also makes sure to call her nieces and nephews every day to make sure that they too are given positive words of encouragement and reinforcement that will help shape their vision of themselves and endow them with self-confidence and pride. And though, of course, parents have a huge impact, it is often the cool aunt, the successful aunt, who can serve as role model. Sometimes it's easier to believe anyone but our parents because, well, they are our parents, and thus missing the cool factor. Davidovit says that WORDS are the building blocks of who we are and so we must construct our lives with positive words. In her new book she devotes a chapter to role models and says "in life it is not important who we look up to but rather who looks up to us. We cannot let them down. In word and deed we must always remember they are watching."

by P.S. Henley

Read more in her book: The Words That Shaped Me