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Viral video captures 'Peter Pan' moment: How to create enduring sibling bonds

The latest in popular YouTube parent videos shows five-year old Sadie Miller crying uncontrollably over the cuteness of her baby brother and lamenting his growing any older. Can parents help maintain that kind of tender bond?

An adorable video of a sister crying about her brother growing up has been popping up all over my Facebook newsfeed in recent days, and the video has more than 20 million views on YouTube, an indication that it's hitting a sweet spot for lots of other families as well. 

Five-year old Sadie Miller expresses such genuine sadness about the fact that her brother won’t be a baby forever. She tenderly hugs him, gushing about his cuteness between uncontrollable sobs about him aging into toddlerhood.

I can completely relate to how the sister feels. I was just lamenting to family members yesterday about how my 16-month-old daughter is already turning into a little girl and leaving babyhood far behind. She loves eating by herself (and gets annoyed if I try to help her), running around at the beach or park, and finding toys to play with on her own. If I give her something I think would be fun for her to play with, she has no interest, but if she finds it, she'll play with it for hours. 

Similar to reasonsmysoniscrying.com – the popular blog that points out irrational reasons for little kid crying jags – this video is funny because the big sister is crying about something entirely out of her or her parents’ (presumably behind the camera) control. With a little perspective, videos like this one will be awesome for the brother and sister to see when they grow up, as they look back on that moment in their emotional and sibling development.

The video made me think ahead to the time when my daughter might have a sibling, and like most parents, I hope they get along as well as this emotional big sister in the video. But I know that isn’t always the case. So in case my daughter doesn’t tenderly adore her sibling – on camera no less – I’m ready with back up. I’ve already armed myself with some tips on building siblings bonds from the venerable child expert Dr. Sears and have even taken a page from ehow.com on ways for all siblings to feel special. 

These tips could be helpful practical tools in years to come should sibling squabbling try to take over. But as I have learned with my toddler now, just like that toy I try to hand her, it might be best for her to discover herself the joys of being an older sibling before I step in to help. Bringing good examples of sibling love to her attention, like this video, might inspire good sibling relationships down the road. Here's hoping. 

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