Show 52: Siblings

DID YOU GROW UP with brothers or sisters? Maybe you were the oldest child, looking out for the younger ones while conquering all the big life milestones first - riding a bike, driving a car, the first kiss. Or perhaps you were the baby of the family and enjoyed all the special attention that came with being the youngest. Whether big sister or kid brother, one thing is true - siblings have a relationship with one another like no other relationship in life - they are our first playmates and the people we can remain friends with as adults. We're looking at the sibling relationship today - how it's changed throughout history, what it means in the present day and why it's so important through the course of our lives.

 IN-STUDIO GUESTS: Joining guest host Kathleen McCoy is Dr. Dallett Hemphill, a Professor of History at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. Dr. Hemphill is the author of Bowing to Necessities: A History of Manners in America and the recently published Siblings: Brothers and Sisters in American History. She has seven siblings. Also joining us is Dr. Ann Jache, a professor of Sociology at the University of Alaska Anchorage and her area of focus is gerontology. She has three siblings.

Since 1970 the percentage of households containing five or more people has fallen by half. The average household size is 3.14 according to the 2000 US census. So it’s very possible that many children in this generation and the next generations may grow up without brothers or sisters.

FEATURED STORIES:

• Supporting kids who have siblings with cancer - SuperSibs! ensures that no brother or sister of a sibling with cancer goes unsupported. Founder Melanie Goldish spoke with our producer Sarah Gonzales from her office in Illinois.

• Adult siblings as close friends - Often it seems people come to appreciate their siblings a little later in life, once they don’t all live under the same roof. Contributor Jessica Cochran met 4 siblings - and their Mom, too - who clearly enjoy each others' company in order to find out what makes these three sisters and one brother so close now that they are adults.

Hannah, Christina, Clifford and Rebecca (check back tomorrow for more photos of the Lien family!)

• KTDontheGO: Travelin' in the family bus - Erin Kirkland recalls tripping the road fantastic with her own siblings in days gone by, and how the time spent in the backseat meant brother/sister bonding and a time to teach one another new things.