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I am one of seven children. Five of us have one child each. The other two do not have children, do not want children, and won't ever have them.
My daughter is very close with three of her cousins. It's such a relief to my sisters and I (the other cousin is my dead brother's daughter) that they will have one another when we are gone, since we didn't have the chance to give them siblings. The cousins get together for a "cousins day" a couple of times a year and have a great time. In between they visit one another, depending upon what is going on in their lives.
On the other hand, my daughter also has cousins on my ex-husband's side that she only met once or twice or has never met at all. My ex barely keeps in touch with his five siblings. One of my daughter's cousins on that side is in a mental institution and another was in prison--don't know if he's still there or not. Yet another is in the service and stationed in Alaska--she met him a few times, but chances are she won't see him again. My ex's family does not seem to care about family relationships at all, so when he's gone, she will probably lose all connection with them. It all seems kind of sad and a little weird to me.
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Originally Posted by Sprite97
Would having siblings make the kids/cousins not be close? I think people should be close to their cousins whether they have siblings or not. Siblings shouldn't stop a relationship between cousins, just like they don't stop a person from having friends or spouses.
Afterall, cousins (like siblings) share family (grandparents/aunts/uncles) and are the children of siblings. Cousins are family, but seem to be very underrated/ignored. I don't understand how people can claim to be so close to a sister/brother, yet could careless if their own kids are close to that sister/brother's kids.....their cousins.
I'm glad your daughter is close to her cousins. Cousins should be close, even with siblings.
You missed my point. It's that it's a relief to us that they won't be alone specifically because they don't have siblings.
"My daughter is very close with three of her cousins. It's such a relief to my sisters and I (the other cousin is my dead brother's daughter) that they will have one another when we are gone, since we didn't have the chance to give them siblings."
I'm pretty sure MQ meant that they are relieved the cousins are close because they don't have siblings to be close to. I don't know how that has anything to do with siblings stopping the cousing relationship.
My children are also very close to their cousins, despite living very far. I was close with my cousins as well. My husband didn't even know his cousins, and they lived in the same town. They met once while playing, and one told him they were cousins. So sad.
My mother's parents had seven children, of whom she was the fourth. My father's parents had three children, of whom he was the first.
Having lots of aunts and uncles was enjoyable, especially during family get-togethers, and Christmas, as we would receive lots of gifts. However, I was one of the oldest in the family. Older than me were a cousin whom I looked at as an aunt and another cousin five years older than me. Most were born around 1991-1997.
My sister, who was born in 1993, had plenty of company when she was young, although she separated from her cousins beginning at an early age, and now at 19, rarely talks with them. They are more of the athletic / involved types, and she has little common ground on which to relate with them.
I had 4 cousins and my husband had none growing up. He is one of 8 children, and there are 26 cousins on that side. I am one of 5 and currently there are 12 cousins all close in age. Some of my kid's best friends are their cousins, and I'm so happy they get to have this experience, wish I had cousins like that when I was a kid,
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I should have read ahead!
