Family models have evolved over the years and we can now find different types: traditional, single parent, separate, homoparental and assembled or reconstituted, to name a few examples.
In the case of the last families, one or both parents have children from a previous relationship, and in some cases, they subsequently have more children together, which become “half brothers” of the first children. However, although this term is commonly used, it could have a negative connotation for children, so We have found the reflection of a mother very successful, who invites us to simply call them “brothers.
"They are complete sisters who love each other with all their hearts"
The reflection of which I speak, was published in PopSugar, a website in English about lifestyle, in which the author shares why don't you like to call your daughters half sisters, despite being the term "formal."
In Babies and more "We are not a homosexual couple, but we share a daughter", the beautiful photographs of a girl with her father and stepfatherIn her writing, she mentions that the main reason she doesn't like people to use that term, it is the discomfort and discomfort that this causes in his eldest daughter when they refer their second daughter, whom he had after divorcing and remarrying.
And it is that for his eldest daughter, who takes the youngest 8 years apart, it is annoying every time someone asks for his “half sister” does not understand why people have the need to make that difference between them:
“> We don't use the term“ half sister ”because these girls are not half of anything. They are complete sisters who love each other with all their heart. They play and show affection as sisters. Sure, they don't have the same father, but that has no influence on their bond. That fact is also beyond your control. They took the role of sisters so naturally and lovingly, why can't others accept it and do the same? My girls are sisters. Point. >> ”, He comments in his reflection.
And it is that by using this term, they not only make this difference between them known, but also, they can influence children's feelings about family dynamics, something in which the parents of reconstituted families always work to make their home a loving environment with strong ties.
A personal experience
I liked this reflection not only because I also think that it is not necessary to highlight or remind children constantly that they are from a different father or mother, but because it is something with which I can identify.
When I was a child, I knew that my dad had other brothers from my grandfather's previous marriages, but I never heard him refer to them as his "half brothers", only as brothers and now. So, for me it became a natural thing not to make the reference and not to tell them “uncles means”, which according to the nomenclature of kinship in Spanish, is the title they should have.
I'm currently divorced (something I've talked about here before), but at some point I had a reconstituted family, since my daughter's father has three daughters from a previous relationship. Since I was pregnant, we always manage that girls would now have another sister as well, without putting half titles.
When my daughter was born and as she grew up, we always refer to the four as sisters, without making a difference between them and treating them all equally, as we naturally looked for a good relationship between them. Also, what was the need to add that "medium" to what they are?
In Babies and more, yours, mine, our (but without messes): Guide of reconstituted families Now we are no longer together and the four do not live together frequently, but when we talk about them, we continue to refer to them as sisters, because that is the link that unites them.
So I agree with this mother: let's stop calling them "half brothers" and just say "brothers", because at the end of everything, they are part of a family and what is sought is to form a bond between them, not to show their differences.
Photos | Pexels
Via | PopSugar
