In the modern world there are a huge number of different degrees of kinship, both blood and acquired. But how to figure it all out? And who are stepbrothers and sisters?
Problems
Unfortunately, today a huge number of families are falling apart. But people after such difficult events often do not lose hope and enter into new unions, entering into repeated marriages. Everything seems to be good, but no one knows what the children who are staying with one of their parents think about, what they feel and what they want. In addition to the fact that a new person appears in the family - stepfather or stepmother, they can still have their own children. Children who are not close in blood, who acquire new relatives in connection with the formation of a new family, are called consolidated. Brothers and sisters are also considered consolidated if they share only a father or mother.
Relations
Psychologists do not make a special distinction between boys and girls, who become consolidated - all children experience this most often hard and perceive what is happening with hostility. But most often conflicts arise if a family member such as a half-sister appears. Why does this happen - no one knows, we can only assume that the girls have a more developed sense of jealousy for their parent and they do not want to share their relatives with anyone.
Changes
How to behave to parents if their children have a half-brother or half-sister? Here it is necessary to be very delicate so as not to completely step aside from your own child, wanting to establish relations with new family members. Also, do not scold and punish the baby if he protests, becomes moody, or simply does not want to communicate with new brothers and sisters. A little time should pass, children need to get used to the changes and to each other. It is worth noting that in younger children, the processes of establishing relationships with new relatives are much faster and easier than, say, in adolescents - this also needs to be taken into account.
Rivals
If a child has a half-sister or brother, especially if the children live in the same territory, one can observe a constant rivalry between them. They will try to get ahead of each other in everything: to be better at school, to help more at home, to fight simply for the attention of parents. Adults should not perceive this as a game, it is necessary for children to explain that they are equal for dad and mother, that there is no division into “mine-yours”, that children are equally loved by both parents. If you release everything “on the brakes”, you can subsequently get a lot of problems.
About future
Having understood what a half-sister and half-brother means, it’s worthwhile to realize that these are almost the same relatives as siblings, there may be a small difference only in blood. In the future, when children grow up, they look at everything differently and begin to appreciate any kindred relationship. Such a concept as “consolidated” disappears. Only one word remains - brother or sister. Therefore, children need to clarify even at the first stages of acquaintance that the half-brother or half-sister are important relatives with whom it will be necessary to be friends and communicate throughout one's life. And if everything is done correctly at the very first stages, many problems with the communication of children in the future can be avoided.
