Other

Services should consider siblings

1 min read Social Care
Local authorities and family support services need to give more consideration to the relationship between siblings in child development.

The Family & Parenting Institute said services should see children as part of a family, not just as lone individuals, following a Stirling University study, which found the way birth order and age affects family relationships is not fixed.

"Family policy has so far concentrated on the parent-child relationship, but it should bear in mind the positive and negative influences siblings have on each other," said a spokeswoman for the charity.

Mary MacLeod, chief executive of the institute, added: "Our brothers and sisters are for life and our relationship with them is a powerful mixture of love, rivalry, support, resentment and protectiveness."

"We have understood this in fiction and in clinical practice but there has been little research on the role of brothers and sisters in child development.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


More like this