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Oh, Brother! A study reveals why children with siblings have sharper social skills than only children. 
Kids who have brothers and sisters learn to get along better with their kindergarten classmates than only children, says Dr. Douglas Downer, a sociology professor at Ohio State University, reporting his results in the Journal of Marriage and Family. “Children without siblings were consistently rated as having poorer social skills,” Downey says. “Siblings fight each other, they have conflicts, but they also figure out how to resolve those conflicts. That probably helps them deal with other children when they go to school.” The study included data from more than 20,000 kids attending kindergarten in 1998-99. It made little difference whether siblings were brothers or sisters, or how close in age they were. But full siblings did get bigger benefits than step-siblings did. “We wouldn’t encourage parents to have a second child simply as a strategy for improving social skills,” Downey says. “There are other things parents can do to improve an only child’s social skills,” such as making sure young children have a chance to interact and play with other kids from an early age. |
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