That’s right! Valentine’s Day is when we celebrate love, and why not celebrate it with siblings?

I have a younger brother named Jason, and we do all sorts of fun things together. We like listening to music, being weird and making funny faces and noises at each other, throwing dance parties, watching movies and TV shows together (especially crime TV shows), cooking, and taking naps.

Over the years my sibling and I have had great memories together, and we have this special bond that brings us together. We both show love and affection to each other, and we have each other’s backs when we are upset.

In life we have our ups and downs. My brother and I always have conflicts. We have different ways that we fight with each other. I will always give him the silent treatment, and he’ll get mad and say that I ignore him (that is not true). But we do have ways to apologize to each other. We hug it out sometimes or my brother says to me “ I will cook you a meal whatever you want just tell me,” and then I’ll feel better.

For those of you who don’t know how to solve conflicts with your siblings, you can always go have some time to yourself. Or you can try to talk it out with them, or like I said before you can hug it out.

In the New York Times article “How To Maintain Sibling Relationships” written by Anna Goldfarb, she says, “The quality of sibling relationships is one of the most important predictors of mental health in old age, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry.” Goldfarb says that it is important to have an emotional connection and feel close to our siblings because it gives us higher life satisfaction and lower rates of depression later in life.

Here are some things the author wants us to keep in mind:

• Say how you appreciate each other.
• Don’t compare yourselves to each other because siblings are different in special ways.
• Avoid conflict by not talking about traumatic things from the past; talk about other things.
• Share your goals. That is the perfect way to remain close with your sibling—to have the same goals that you can achieve together.

Want more ways to find love with your sibling? Just hang out with them. Do simple things together like draw a picture, go on a walk to town and have lunch, or think creatively and make up a dance routine with them so you can perform it for your parents. Or you can give each other makeovers and do a fashion show. You see, there are a lot of things to do with your siblings.

Well, that pretty much wraps that up! Just remember Valentine’s Day is when you not only celebrate romance, it’s where we celebrate sibling love.