--- title: Siblings Day: How Having Brothers and Sisters Impacts Your Life description: Siblings Day is April 10 canonical: https://time.com/3767213/the-biggest-reason-to-be-thankful-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-on-siblings-day/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-10T13:00:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:45.667Z article:section: History og:title: Siblings Day: How Having Brothers and Sisters Impacts Your Life og:description: Siblings Day is April 10 og:url: https://time.com/3767213/the-biggest-reason-to-be-thankful-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-on-siblings-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17579198c7ee7562/698786330b72e366826de73e/1101060710_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Siblings Cover og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Siblings Day: How Having Brothers and Sisters Impacts Your Life twitter:description: Siblings Day is April 10 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17579198c7ee7562/698786330b72e366826de73e/1101060710_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Biggest Reason to Be Thankful for Your Brothers and Sisters on Siblings Day  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 10, 2015 1:00 PM UTC  The July 10, 2006, cover of TIME The July 10, 2006, cover of TIMECover Credit: PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY ARTHUR HOCHSTEIN. PHOTOGRAPH OF CHILDREN BY PENNY GENTIEU - BABYSTOCK.COM. NEST FROM GETTY IMAGES  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 10, 2015 1:00 PM UTC Our brothers and sisters are often the only people in our lives from beginning to end, and their influence is just as broad as that timeline. That was the conclusion reached by TIME’s Jeffrey Kluger in a 2006 cover story about the effects of sibling-hood. And, as many U.S. states mark [Siblings Day](http://www.siblingsdayfoundation.org/proclamations/gubernatorial-state-proclamations) on April 10, there’s no better time to look at that research as another reason to be thankful for those closest of relatives. Even the ever-present sibling rivalry can pay off in the long run, it turns out, as they help kids grow up with problem-solving know-how. _Read TIME’s new special report on siblings:_ [_How Parents Can Help Their Kids Get Along_](http://time.com/siblings-how-parents-can-help-them-get-along/) And, as Kluger reported, it’s not really surprising that those childhood companions end up affecting our adulthood: --- > “” --- Still, folks without siblings shouldn’t despair: All that research into siblings came along with research into only-children. The stereotype of the spoiled only child, scientists found, was mostly just a myth. **_Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The New Science of Siblings](http://time.com/vault/issue/2006-07-10/page/83/) _Read next:_ [_Facebook Reveals How Common It Is For Siblings to Have The Same First Initial_](http://time.com/3378759/facebook-data-siblings-names/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### Sister Act: Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland  Caption from LIFE. As successful movie stars, Joan (left) and Olivia make one of their rare appearances together in a window at Joan's home. This year they were winner and runner-up, respectively, for the Academy Award. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Joan Fontaine in her film make-up and pompadour. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Olivia, here sunk in a brown study, has changed considerably. The cheery but colorless Hoopskirt Girl has given way to an understandably gloomier but much greater actress. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Joan Fontaine in natural freckles and pigtails looks very different but no less pretty and fragile than she does in her film make-up and pompadour. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On the back terrace of their white Georgian home in Beverly Hills, Joan and her husband, Actor Brian Aherne, chat with Olivia. The Ahernes are extremely happy and domestic, like to have tea each afternoon at 4, to dress for dinner and have in Aherne's British friends. He is a licensed pilot and now helps in the West Coast Civil Air Patrol. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Her gold Oscar Statuette stands on the desk where Joan attends to the bookkeeping for the Aherne household. Maps for their frequent airplane trips cover the study walls. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Olivia De Havilland, 1942. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Joan Fontaine with her husband Brian Aherne and her dog, 1942. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Joan Fontaine, 1942. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Olivia De Havilland, 1942. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Joan Fontaine, 1942. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3767213/the-biggest-reason-to-be-thankful-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-on-siblings-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3767213/the-biggest-reason-to-be-thankful-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-on-siblings-day/"},"headline":"The Biggest Reason to Be Thankful for Your Brothers and Sisters on Siblings Day","datePublished":"2015-04-10T13:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:45.667Z","description":"The research says they deserve a grateful hug","url":"https://time.com/3767213/the-biggest-reason-to-be-thankful-for-your-brothers-and-sisters-on-siblings-day/","keywords":["Family","Psychology","siblings"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17579198c7ee7562/698786330b72e366826de73e/1101060710_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17579198c7ee7562/698786330b72e366826de73e/1101060710_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Siblings Cover","caption":"Siblings Cover","creditText":"Cover Credit: PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY ARTHUR HOCHSTEIN. 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