Sibling Rivalry

Your Position in the family is so important in regards to your character.  I am the youngest, to which everyone has their opinion on. Let’s hear it ‘You are Spoilt’  To which I would strongly object.  I was n’t and I did n’t feel spoilt.  I am the youngest in a rambling family of eight siblings, we have suffered that colonial split whereby two of us myself and the second youngest was born in England while my other siblings travelled when they were in the early teens to England.  It was a strange feeling knowing you had brothers and sisters somewhere out there that you didn’t know.  I know this is the story of many families does the resentment on each group ever end.  I resented the fact that the reason I could n’t get a bike was because money was either being sent to support my siblings in Trinidad or sent on numerous occasions for them to fly over.

Well I was n’t so affected about my position in my family I was the youngest that was it.  First I was the youngest of  two, then I was the youngest of eight.  Was I spoilt? No! definitely not.  Is spoiling such a bad thing?  Yes it is the worst you can do, it gives that child a false perception of life.  They will go through life not being able to interact with others as we have all had to do.  The way we have to make an effort when meeting new people to ensure they like us (yes that’s what it is about) Children who have been spoilt find it difficult to accept that just their presence alone does not warrant admiration, adulation and some sort of party atmosphere.  Why Parents or Grandparents spoil a child openly it makes me angry.  I feel that someone should pull them up on it.  

The only thing that should be rewarded with special treatment is good behaviour not looks as these are generic and they haven’t done anything to acheive these looks.  The changes families go through effects all of us in different ways.  We don’t sit children down and introduce the subject of  a new sibling if (we asked the opinion) most families would only have one child.

Posted fb 14/04/13

#72 What’s Love Got to do With it

What’s love got to do with it?

Strangely enough a lot

She stood on the chair

Doing her bit washing dishes

Giving it all that she had got

In the other room a new arrival

Who was vying for her spot

She was happy

She told herself

How could she be anything else

Now she would have to fight for her survival

A few weeks ago she was the apple in everyone’s eye

Suddenly this baby has come along

They no longer notice her go by

I watched, I observed what could I do?

This wasn’t my family

This family I barely knew them at  all

I witnessed the rise and the fall

I would take her away for weekends

Treat her the best I can

Here on the weekends

She was allowed to pretend

I had a soft spot for her

This I must confess

The baby grew up and stole the show

Brilliant and pretty

That’s how the nurtured grow

Well who would’ve known

After a few years an elder brother arrived

Really this is what happened

I have no reason to lie

Now she wasn’t the eldest

She also wasn’t the cutest

It was an upside down world

In which she had to exist

I watched I observed this little girl

All she had was her song

What’s love got to do with it?

It had everything to do with it

Because now it seems she’s lost the lot.