Well here is me in a nutshell, I am 19 years old when I lived at home I was always busy doing my own thing as any teenager is. My little bro who is 5 always wanted to hang out with me but never gave him hardly any time and was always frustrated with him. Soon after I completed high school I relaxed for a few months from work and left for the Navy. Now my home resides in Florida 1000 miles away from home. I call home on a regular basis and I realize I miss my little brother. I was his big brother and he looked up to me but I never gave him any of my time to throw a ball or play video games or anything. Now my neighborhood that I grew up in is an older neighborhood now it grew up with me so there are no little kids for my brother to play with. When I talk to him I ask him what he does for fun. And he says that he watchs tv or rides his scouter. Now I feel bad that he does'nt have anyone to hang out with any even if there was I would be paranoid becuase I don't want my little brother growing up with some kids who are jacked up because of shitty parenting (my town is known for that..) Anyway so here is my question as shitty as I feel I want to find some way to make peace with myself about my brother I talk to him whenever I call home, and now I am just thinking what about if I buy him a ps2 and some video games that shit always made me happy when i had no one to hang out with. I'd rather him play video games and be a huge nerd like I was than hang around bad kids while he is young or kids slightly older than him who have fresh mouths. So in short what kind of things you think I could do to be a better brother and look out for him. Ps2 xbox? what kind of games? My brother can grow up and be a nerd its all good so was I, but now I am alot better off than kids from my high school. I have a stable job and I work on jets. Not so bad rite :)

Edit: Yea this is a rant, mainly because I feel emo rite now

I did the same thing with my brother. He's 6 years younger than me. I'm 22. When I was younger, he really looked up to me a lot. I never payed him any mind and really took him for granted. Sometimes I would get mad at him for trying to follow me around everywhere I went. After I moved out, I felt bad because of how I treated him. He's really got a heart of gold even though he acts like a hard ass now. I don't really like some of the kids he hangs around either, but I can't say too much about it because he needs to learn from experience.

I don't think your little bro is going to care that much about video games or materialistic things. If he's anything like my brother was, he justs wants to hang out with you. Games might keep him occupied for a while and he'll be greatful for what you got him, but he'll still want to hang out with his bro more than anything.

I actually work at a child care, with 4-12 year olds. A ps2 or game console would be a nice thing to get him, but at the same time, i've taken over 100 hours or STARS/Parenting classes, and when a kid grows up only watching TV and playing video games, that can hurt him just as much as being around bad kids. He will grow up socially deprived, and have a hard time making friends later on in life. I think its awsome that you talk to him when you call home, but i think it would be better if you took the time to call a little more often, and some of those times, just take the whole time to talk to him, see what hes been up to, just bs with him for a while, it would let him know that you really care, and that youre still big bro, looking out for him. If you insist on buying him something, make it something he can either learn from, or something physical that he would make friends with, such as a gas powered remote control car, or toy rocket. Or give him something he can practice and get really good at, seeing as hes only 5, hes at the perfect age to start learning a good skill, such as skateboarding, rollerblading, bmx, basketball hoop, ect. Then maybe he can meet a group of kids in the neighborhood, or at school that are also into the same thing. Sports are a really good idea, seeing as he cant exactly play catch with himself, a basketball hoop, or hockey set, something along those lines would be great for him to practice on. If you do go with one of these, make sure you bring it up often, ask if hes been practicing, ask if hes getting good and such. Then when you go home on visit, spend plenty of time practicing with him, showing him you really care. These are just some options, good luck.

Thanks alot, yea sports are would be hard he does throw the baseball every now and again and hit off a tee and he was really good at it so maybe I can influence him to start doing that more. I know my step-dad wanted to get him into little league soon so he could make friends that way. I just want to try and find my way to be an impact on my little bro in a positive way not just hey, I looked up to you but now your gone and I never see you.

If he likes baseball and is only 5 years old. I think little league would be perfect for him.

http://www.dsmregistry.com/detail.php?carid=1030

I can't really say anything, I have 2 younger sisters, 19 and 21. Both are at college and I do visit one of them because she is an hour and a half away from me, the other is 6 hours away and with my car it's kind of hard to go down there and visit.

My sisters are concerned about me too, mainly the one 6 hours away. Wait until you are about to get married, if your brother is anything like my one sister, he'll flip out.

Go and visit sometime, I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

I was thinkin a cell phone, maybe one where you guys can chirp each other and talk for free or something; maybe a prepaid cell or something.

hey, he can come with on the drive to florida, well, no I doubt that, but it sounded good in my head

I think he needs a hobby that he can grow into like baseball or soccer(field fairies) or football or basketball or motocross. I would encourage your parents to get him involved in something to keep him so busy he has no free time to start being a little terd (like hang out with the bad kids). Just make sure if he does get into a sport or hobby(other than video games) that you call him after a game or event and listen to his excitement and encourage him.

Originally posted by 95_ESi_Person
I can't really say anything, I have 2 younger sisters, 19 and 21. Both are at college and I do visit one of them because she is an hour and a half away from me, the other is 6 hours away and with my car it's kind of hard to go down there and visit. My sisters are concerned about me too, mainly the one 6 hours away. Wait until you are about to get married, if your brother is anything like my one sister, he'll flip out. Go and visit sometime, I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

why would your sister's flip out that you are on the verge of marriage? my younger sister was happy for me when she found out that it wouldnt be too long till i popped the question to my girlfriend.

Yea, So I posted this in myspace and some how I got this little present in my content. What gives


http://imageshack.us>

I have to agree with some of the above comments; video games might not be the best answer. In all honesty, what you are doing now seems to be the best you can for your situation. Talking to him and letting him know you care is an awesome way of helping him. A sport is another great Idea. I worked at a day care wtih children age 4-14. The ones who had a physical hobby always seemed to stay out of trouble. It really offers a lot of potential for making friends, staying healthy and would give you guys more to talk about. Was there a sport that you used to play? If your mom could find pictures of you doing something it might make him want to do it that much more. Oh, another thing to think about may be an instrument. I know people find it nerdy, but I wish I still played the piano. My school has a wonderful music program and some of those students are simply amazing when it comes to activities other than music, because it develops other parts of the brain. Plus, when you call he could play something for you and you could let him know how good it sounds (even when it doesn't).

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Good luck man, and don't worry. From one big brother to another, you are doing fine. You are a part of his life as much as you can be right now. My brother is 17 now (I'm 20). When we were younger we didn't always get along, but with in the past couple years have become best friends. I know you aren't in the same situation with age, but it will still work out.

it is anti leeching. ;-) let him know and request his blessing. :D

Originally posted by injendsm
why would your sister's flip out that you are on the verge of marriage? my younger sister was happy for me when she found out that it wouldnt be too long till i popped the question to my girlfriend.

They are happy for me in a way, but they freaked out when I mentioned that we might go to Vegas to get married.