Mothers know. We just know. We can tell when we are being lied to. We can foretell illnesses and feel disasters coming in the depth of our bones. We just know.

Sometimes we can tell what is what from birth. My eldest was very still in the womb. He barely moved, made a sound and I was more than fine throughout his pregnancy. Sometimes, I forgot he was there.

My second was too cool for school since he was in utero. He hid in there for a couple of months, hid his face at every scan and made me get rid of any slime in my throat every single morning. He's still too cool for school. He watches his brother acting a fool with an arched eyebrow as if to say, “Dude…”

Since the two are very different personalities, that brotherly bond is more a work-in-progress than a natural occurrence. I have seen videos of many mothers posting their children and the connection they have as siblings. I wanted that. I tried to get my son excited about having a sibling since I was pregnant. He thought babies were cute but he had not been exposed to them for long periods.

Since coming home from the hospital, I noticed that the brothers don't seek each other out. The older one is too busy trying to get his hundred per cent attention like he used to, and the little one is trying to find his own way in this new world. Whatever interactions they have are forced by me. They are cute but brief.

As their mother, I can read both of them like a book. I cannot claim the gift of foresight but I have always had strong intuitions. And I already know that my kids might not have the same interests in future and very few things in common.

In fact, I am prepared for their temperaments to be so different that they do not hang out together often. However, if I have to, I will force the brotherly bond. A bond that is not necessarily represented by them being best of friends but they will be brothers. 

Have you ever seen the videos of parents punishing their kids by ‘forcing’ the sibling relationship when they fight? I have seen videos of parents forcing siblings into an oversized T-shirt to slow dance together as a punishment for fighting. That’s the kind of sibling bond I will enforce under my roof.

They do not have to be best friends. They do not have to play together all the time. They can squabble as they grow, but they must love each other and must have each other’s back. My goal is to raise children who understand that their siblings are their utmost priority in life. Up until they have their own children, brothers come first. They will grow up learning to have each other’s trust and support without question.