Children's Stories and Positive Sibling Relationships

In the Little Honey stories, the relationship between the two sisters – Little Honey and Angel – is highlighted by the love they share and the trust they have in each other. Regardless of what mischievous adventure Little Honey introduces into her relationship with Angel, love and trust always triumph. Each story is followed by Little Honey’s Little Lessons. The little lessons provide parents an opportunity for discussions with their children to emphasize a positive and collaborative sibling relationship and family love.
 
We are of the belief that parent efforts to create a gentler, kinder world for their children have been challenging. There are a number of reasons for this but, perhaps, none is as important as the relationships between siblings.

It’s difficult to even define what a sibling is given the unique family arrangements that exist in our culture. However, if we include step, half, and adopted siblings into the mix, nearly 90% of all children are involved in a sibling relationship. Despite the ubiquity of sibling relationships and the fact that the type of relationships that exist between siblings has a direct effect on family dynamics, they have not been thoroughly studied the way parental relationships have.
 
While children bring their own nature and characteristics into their relationships, those relationships can be both positively and negatively impacted by cultural and social factors. Children’s stories may provide parents with tools to teach positive conflict resolution and to promote sibling relationships.
 
We remember growing up on series of sibling adventures such as in the Bobbsey Twins, which featured two sets of fraternal twins and the Boxcar Children, which featured four orphaned siblings. The recent popularity of the film, Frozen, shows clearly how attractive solid relationships between siblings are in popular culture. Perhaps you have a favorite story that you read as a child that emphasized the loving connections between brothers and sisters. If so, please share in the comments!