They can be incredibly sweet…and shockingly sour; heartbreakingly cute…and irritatingly sticky! Yup, elder brothers are a lot like candy! But whether they’re making you go ‘awwwww’ and turning you into a pile of mush (in a good way!) or making you tear your hair out in frustration (like literally!); one thing you gotta admit, you do end up learning a lot thanks to them. Its Bhai Dooj week and we’ve been musing about the unique bond between sisters and their big brothers One thing’s for sure, there are a few inevitable life skills you will learn (whether you like it or not!) if you have an elder brother:

Life skill you learn when you have an elder brother #1: How to grow a verrry thick skin

“Girls are disgusting…and you’re the worst of the lot!” “You’re $#@#$$ (insert choice of adjective: ugly/ stinky/ fat/ a pile of poop)!” If you have an elder brother, you’ve been there, heard that. From being teased mercilessly, to being picked on endlessly, the favourite butt of all his (totally crass) jokes is you!

You’re his FAVOURITE! The favourite butt of his jokes that is ;)

What this teaches you is priceless: how to grow a very thick skin and get on with the program. Sensitive cry baby you certainly are not and you got big bro to thank for that; as a bonus you also develop a very high threshold for tolerating terrible jokes!

Life skill you learn when you have an elder brother #2: How to be a tough cookie

Those wrestling matches that were an integral part of your childhood? The ones you always lost because big bro was well, bigger and stronger? They may have ended in tears at the time but they’ve gone a long way in making you toughen up. You learn to stay strong and won’t give up easily; well not without a fight at least!

He’s gonna toughen you up!

And hey, all that wrestling did teach you how to pull a few punches, both literally and figuratively!

Life skill you learn when you have an elder brother #3: How to skate (or dance) circles around bosses and bullies

Elder brothers are bossy. And bullies. Period. Okay, so they may not always be bossy or bullying the daylights out of you but more often than not they will. It’s ingrained in their DNA. Elder brother, remember? With elder being the operative word. And boy, do they take that seriously!

A different kind of Big Boss!

So what’re you gonna do? You’ll just have to learn how to live with it! And that’s going to come in incredibly handy later in life when you have to deal with bullies, which you will.

Life skill you learn when you have an elder brother #4: You’ll have a better understanding of them creatures from Mars 😉

Yeah, even your stinky brother is going to grow up into a real (pun intended) man someday. And since you have no choice but to grow up together, spending all that time with him is going to teach you some invaluable life lessons about men in general.

Big Bro 101: A lifelong understanding of men

Like how they get less gross with time (or at least learn how to cover it up better), the best ways to communicate with them (even with a TV and video games competing with you) and how they can sometimes really get you. Mucho helpful when you deal with men later in life, trust us!

Life skill you learn when you have an elder brother #5: You learn that no matter what, someone always has your back

He might hold his nose when you walk past, always make fun of your hair and you’ll never be cool enough to hang out with him and his friends. But at the end of the day, this guy loves you (he does, he does!) and you know that no matter what he will always have your back– just watch out for that kick he’s aiming at your butt!

He’ll always have your back!

When push comes to shove, you can depend on him and he will bail you out. Just be prepared to endure the never ending lecture about ‘how he told you so’ for the rest of your life!

Got any stories about your infuriating, crazy, yet totally endearing big bro? Tell us! And don’t forget to pick out a bro bouquet for him this Bhai Dooj, coz like they say, in the cookies of life, brothers are the chocolate chips