When I first read that such a day existed I thought “wait…this is a real thing?” I hopped on google and sure enough, it’s a real real thing. Turns out Siblings Day has a foundation, petition to become a national holiday, and proclamations of acknowledgment from 45 governors to legitimize it.
Siblings Day was started by Claudia Evart. She formed the foundation in honor of both her siblings, whom she lost early in life. I will be honest, I rolled my eyes at the idea of the holiday at first. But after I read about the foundation and its goals I started to consider thoughtful ways to honor the spirit of the day. How can we teach our children, especially the little ones, to truly treasure their siblings? How can we ensure that they recognize the unique beauty of the friendship they were born into? For each family, the answers to those questions will be very different. I think what is important is that we ponder those questions, and converse with our children about what it means to be part of a family, and how to honor our siblings.
So on April 10th, will you be “celebrating” with your family? I am not talking about gifts or parties; will you recognize this day with your children? Or, will you reach out to your siblings? This day certainly isn’t all about the kids. As parents, we are modeling positive familial behaviors by nurturing our own sibling relationships. Certainly that is something that we want for our children to have in their lives. So whether it is a deep heart-to-heart conversation, or a fun activity like a sibling slumber party, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Sibling Day! Below, I have listed some fun activities, as well as books and movies that feature strong sibling relationships.
Activities:
- Fun sibling photo shoot
- Have siblings write a letter to each other to detail what they love about each other, and what their relationship means (or, dictate to Mom or Dad)
- Start a sibling journal that they can pass back and forth
- Sibling slumber party
Books:
Movies:
Do you have any other ideas? Please share with us in the comment section.
Disclosure: Links provided in this story are affiliate links. A small percentage of purchases made through those links are earned and used to cover the expense of running the site. Thank you for clicking!
Leave a Reply