Siblings Parenting Styles

Yes. I HATE it when my sister calls her son "Come here boy' Or "Girl whats wrong wtih you".. find it very hillbilliish and degrating, they have names...use them! I asked her once why she does this, and she told me her husband does it and she picked it up from him.

I only have 1 sister and I am always amazed how we were raised in the exact same environment yet grew up to be so very different!

We had a less than ideal childhood and we took away 2 totally different parenting styles!

I like structure and a routine.

She does not. That is all I am gonna say :)

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Thats all Im going to say! CRINGE!

yes, of course. my brother and his wife were 16 when they got pregnant. my sil drank dr pepper and ate cheetos through all 3 of her pregnancies. when i recommended she make dietary changes she laughed it off and acted like i was looking out for her health. i wasnt! i was looking out for my unborn nieces and nephews. she never got that. then when they were barely old enough to walk, you would see them waddling around with giant 44oz styrofome cups of dr pepper! they never had a bedtime. they'd just go hard until they drop, wherever they were. i tried hard not to be a judgemental busybody, but there were so many times when i wanted to just scream! don't get me wrong. i love her and my brother. and now that kids are a bit older and so are they, they're getting the hang of it. but it was hard not taking her by the shoulders and sh
aking her a few times.

I dont' have siblings but I think its like that with any family member. I remember my aunt and uncle having a child at him age 50 and her age 40 and doing the dumbest things! Like when my cousin was 6 mo old we were all at Dairy Queen and he's spoon feeding her ice cream while literally saying "MY baby isn't going to eat Gerber baby food! It has so much sugar in it!" I'm all "what the hell do you think the ICE CREAM YOUR SHOVING IN HER MOUTH HAS IN IT???!!!" It was just ridiculous and the beginning of all kinds of stupid things they did with her. And I was not married or had kids at the time so I learned all kinds of things to NOT do when you have kids! =)

Yup, one sibling follows all the 'conventional' advice - time outs, punishment, don't worry if they don't eat anything but hot dogs, chicken fingers and cookies, tv is fine, video games are fine, pink and purple are the only colors, being a princess is a fine career aspiration. It is horrifying.

Yup. It's like we were raised in different homes! We spent last week in FL with my family and at times it was actually comical to see how my sister is raising her twin girls... and she's a well-educated, dually certified TEACHER!
- As children we ate at the dining room table for all meals with plates and utensils. I do this with my son too b/c I like the time together and don't want crumbs allover my house. My sister? Plates? Maybe, but snacks are definitely just poured on the coffee table. At the table? Meh... maybe, but probably not!
- What's in your mouth? An eraser? Let Aunt Krissy have that honey b/c we don't eat erasers. My sisters response.. (my nieces are 20 months) "Oh. She likes gum and when she can't find some she'll chew on whatever seems like gum."
- The word "no" has no meaning. They kind of just do what they want- including sticking their hands in other people's drinks to taste it, no matter what it is!

I could go on-and-on, but my husband and I were laughing about it for days after we got back! Then again, I'm sure they think we're uptight and overly strict.

I love her and her little family, but my goodness!

YES! I have a brother and a sister and you would think we were raised in 3 differrent house holds ;-) However, I'm sure some of the stuff I do makes them cringe too. Since becoming a mom I've really learned how to bite my tongue...doesn't always work but I try my best ;-)

I try hard not to feel "judgy" but sometimes it's really hard. My husband's sister's 2 boys live with their father (her now ex-husband) and it's not clear to me why she does not have primary custody of them after being their SAHM all of their lives, but now she lives 3 hours away, is remarried, and has a new daughter. She gets to see them every other weekend but that's only if they want to go. According to my other SIL, all those boys do when they are at home with their dad is play video games all day long. You can't get them interested in anything else and they are doing poorly in school to boot. We could all see it 4 years ago and it's just gotten worse over time but there's not much anyone can really say. We are all going to be on vacation together soon and I have a feeling I'll be biting my tongue so hard it will cause it to bleed.

Of course, this is my hubby's sister, not mine, and our childhoods and the way we were raised were vastly different.

Absolutely! My brother and sister in law are very much "fly by the seat of your pants" type people, and it drives my husband and me (and my parents) crazy! What's funny is that he's retired Army, and has never tried to put his kids (15, 12 and almost 11) on a routine. They go to bed when they want, eat dinner sometimes at 9:00 at night, and sleep until noon on weekends. While I'm all for fun and laughs during time off, it wears us out when they come to Texas to visit.

As a result, their kids are loud, have very few filters and are always on the go. They tend to wear us out in two days when they are here.

I'm no stick in the mud, and I think my husband actually sometimes takes the routine thing TOO far (also a military veteran). But - I think my kids are much more well behaved when in social situations because they've been taught limits from day one.

OK - off my soapbox. My niece and nephews are great kids, and I love them dearly. I just wish they would take it down a notch! :)

I have a hard time watching my brother and his wife. The girls are ALWAYS watching TV, one of them is stuttering and they haven't got her the help she needs, they would put them in their rooms all day to watch TV and play video games. She whines ALL the time....I think she desperately wants time and attention from hier parents. It is very tough for me, so I do what I can. I always call up my SIL and ask them to meet me at the park so the cousins can all play, I read them stories....there's only so much Auntie can do though. It is tough.
L.

yep. just last week I had to leave the room several times before I started WW3!

My sister-in law speaking to her 10 year old son, circa 1993:

"Don't go outside, your dad will be here soon and we are leaving"

(boy goes outside)

"Ok, stay in the front yard, we are going to be leaving soon"

(boy gets on bike)

"Ok, stay on the street, your dad will be here soon"

(boy goes to friend's house on next street over)

2011 Update:
Boy has not kept a job for more than 2 years, currently unemployed, does not own a car, living with girlfriend's parents for past year, has not paid child support and does not get to see 3 & 5 year old children. Does not speak to mother who "raised" him. Has arrest record that keeps him out of military or police academy.