National Siblings Day: Do siblings make us happier?

Hanna Seariac
Updated ·4 min read
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Ilma and Nelma Swan depicted in a painting by Eero Järnefelt.
Ilma and Nelma Swan depicted in a painting by Eero Järnefelt. | Eero Järnefelt, Wikimedia Commons

Siblings are like built-in best friends and that’s what’s being celebrated on Monday.

National Siblings Day is dedicated to the strong relationships which exist between siblings and celebrating those relationships. Here’s more information on how to celebrate National Siblings Day.

When is National Siblings Day?

National Siblings Day is celebrated on April 10 annually, according to Fox News.

What is National Siblings Day?

The holiday celebrates the relationships that siblings have in a similar way to how Mother’s Day and Father’s Day work. Claudia Evart created the holiday in 1995 after her brother and sister passed away, according to Fox News.

In celebration of National Siblings Day, Pixar tweeted a meme with the caption, “To the siblings who help us move Onward.”

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How to celebrate National Siblings Day 2023

Showing appreciation and love to your siblings on National Siblings Day is a great way to celebrate the holiday. Here’s a list of what you can do to celebrate your siblings.

  • Call your siblings to catch up with them if you haven’t talked to them in a while.

  • Surprise your siblings with a small gift or a card.

  • Do something kind for your siblings like their laundry or helping them with a chore they’ve been putting off.

  • Make a scrapbook full of pictures of you and your siblings.

  • Go to lunch or dinner with your siblings.

  • Spend quality time with your siblings doing something you love.

  • Give your siblings a list of qualities that you like about them.

  • Share memories with your siblings about your childhood or fun times you had together.

Can siblings make you happier?

Yes. Research shows siblings can make children happier.

Even if you might quibble with your siblings now and then, chances are they contribute positively to your long-term happiness. Greater Good Magazine said people with close sibling relationships experience better psychological health and better social relationships.

These relationships can positively impact you later in life if you keep your siblings close. Greater Good Magazine said, “Yet warmer sibling relationships in older adults do seem to help stave off loneliness and depression, and siblings often help each other out when times are tough. This suggests they remain important and are worth nurturing.”

Research in 2019 from University of New Mexico also found positive benefits of having siblings, like better academic achievement and empathy. They said sibling relationships can have a positive impact on mental health because a sibling gives a person someone to talk to during times of anxiety or depression.

Does birth order matter?

Stereotypically, oldest children are seen as independent and having a take-charge kind of personality, while the youngest child is seen as charming and self-centered. This stereotype is even seen in the classic novel “Little Women.”

Meg March, the oldest of the March children, is an independent go-getter who takes after her mother. Jo March, one of the middle children (along with Beth March), is rebellious and doesn’t want to live the life her family has. Amy March is the youngest child who wants to pursue art and is seen as selfish by the other characters — like in the scene where she wants to keep the butter for their Christmas breakfast (she ends up giving it away to the Hummels after some nudging).

Sibling order personality stereotypes are persistent — so do they matter and are they a scientifically observed phenomenon?

It seems birth order does actually matter. Lois Collins reported for the Deseret News, “But birth order, perceived parental favoritism, age difference and other factors all influence how siblings get along and other aspects of their relationships for their entire lives.”

This corroborates with other research. NPR reported that multiple studies show firstborn children tend to consistently outperform second-born children in different areas like educational attainment and wages.

Not all research, however, shows this. According to Psychology Today, some studies don’t show differences in educational attainment. “What’s most likely is that if birth order effects do exist, they’re not huge and likely vary widely based on several factors, such as the spacing between kids, total number of children in the family, as well as cultural, and socioeconomic differences.”

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Research is also mixed on whether or not birth order impacts personalities of children. Insider reported on some research that suggests a statistically significant percentage of CEOs are firstborn children. Other research demonstrated middle children are more relationship oriented than their other siblings. Last-born children were found to be funnier, more charismatic and more rebellious than their older counterparts.

But, a 2015 study of high school students found no significant differences in personalities resulting from birth order. According to Psych Central, even when some difference in intelligence exists, differences in personality traits like extraversion or emotional stability or imagination were not found.

The Washington Post reported that more recent research seems to indicate birth order doesn’t really impact personality. So that means middle child syndrome probably isn’t a real phenomenon.