I hate the term "half sister/brother"

Echowysp · May 2010

I cringe when I see people saying that. It's your sister/brother. Who cares if it's from both of your parents or just one? Calling them half is making sure you let the person know they aren't "whole" to you.

It would be a very sad day for me if my stepson called either of his siblings his "half brother/sister" and the same coming from Adam and baby #2.

Just a pet peeve, carry on....

hersheykiss · May 2010

Those terms were never used in my house growing up. I have 4 sisters, 2 of half sisters and 2 of which are not even blood related, but we are ALL sisters. I talk about all 4 of my sisters and never once have I ever thought one was more or less a sister than the others. I hate those terms too.

tarebear9891 · May 2010

I agree. All of my siblings are "half-siblings" but I never called them that lol. Only when I was little and kids asked me why we had different dads.

mrs.mickulz · May 2010

Those words are never spoken in our house, either. But we also don't use "step-mom" or "step-dad". I call my mom #2 by her first name (same with dad #2), but she raised me from 15 on, and step-mom makes her sound like a witch.

ElizC · May 2010

I use those terms, but only when I am describing my family to other people. It just sounds wierd if I told someone I had 10 brothers and sisters, when it really brakes down to: 3 whole siblings, 2 half siblings, and 5 step siblings. My half brother and sister are much younger than me and we have never even spent one night under the same roof. I have a feeling it would be different if we had grow up together. I think it would bother me too if we where closer in age and had closer relationships with each other.

emiliemadison · May 2010

I agree under most circumstances. However, sometimes its easier to say "half-sibling" than to clarify a situation. Like, if my 35 year old husband was to mention his 3 year old BROTHER, most people would assume (based on experience, here) that his mother and father had another child together in their late 50s, and it requires a bit of explaining- every time. But if he says his HALF-brother, it's almost automatically assumed that this is the child of his father from a 2nd marriage, thus requiring much less explanation.

He doesnt call his brother his "half-brother" to anyone who knows us and and certainly not TO his brother.

JulyFiveBride · May 2010

My step dad always made a big deal to my sisters about how I was only "a half-sister, not a REAL sister" even though he adopted me when I was a toddler. It was really hurtful. My step mom and bio dad corrected my sisters whenever they called me a half sister. My dad would ask them "What half is yours?? The half with the butt, I hope." lol.

All of my siblings are technically half-siblings, but I never thought of them that way. If, heaven forbid, my DH or I have kids with someone else some day, I will teach my kids that they are just SIBLINGS, even if they have a different mom or dad.

alli2672 · May 2010

I was just responding to this, when I realized that I almost never ever hear kids use this term. I work in mental health, so I ask strangers personal details of their lives on a daily basis. But even in families where dad takes care of his kids and mom takes care of her kids, I still don't hear the terms "step" or "half" from the kids. Only the parents.

eris1995 · May 2010

I feel the same way. I have 2 sisters (technically half sisters) but I just call them my sisters. The only time I refer to them as my half sisters if something about their father comes up and it's to explain we don't have the same dad. They are my sisters though.

carolinag · May 2010

ugh. me too. dh's siblings have a different dad. every so often someone will refer to them as his half siblings. it drives me crazy. they're just his brother and sister. plain and simple.

SwissPrincessBride · May 2010

I use the term but then again my brother and half brother have the same freaking name (loooong story involving BSC ex-gf of my dad who hid the kid from him for 30 years).

Jays-n-Shane · May 2010

I use it when explaining the whole family dynamic...I have 1 brother, 1 step sis who is a year younger than me and 2 half sisters who are in HS. I didn't even know about the youngest until she was 3.

Caroline&Stephen · May 2010

I have never called my brother my half brother or even thought of him as "half"...I have had a few friends refer to him as that & I corrected them.

Syrnyball · May 2010

I agree to a certain extent. My brother is my best friend and I have never thought of him as my "half" brother. But the fact of the matter is that we have different fathers which explains the big age difference. So I have used the term in the past as a means of clarification not really to describe how I feel about him.

618mom22boys · May 2010

I agree! I have a half brother and I never called him that. He was always my brother. And my boys are half brothers and they would never think to call each other that. In their eyes they are brothers.

My DH has a half sister and than 3 whole sisters. His while sisters treat the half one like crap and introduce her as their half sister. It pisses me off!

ETA: I would also like to add that I didn't met my brother until 7 years ago at his wedding. But we always knew about him and I still called him my brother. If some one asked than I would explain that my father was married before.

betsnup · May 2010

I do too! Although I do agree with a previous poster, that sometimes an explanation is needed - my half sister is 18 years younger than me, and most of the time when people hear it, they make comments about my parents having another one so late in life.

However, I will say that it was very hurtful to me when I was playing with my sister one day when she was three, and she turned to me and said "How come you're just my half sister?" I looked at my dad horrified. Apparently whenever my sister had said something about my brother and me, my step-mom would always make sure to say "They are just your half brother and sister." Nice.

desmerelda317 · May 2010

I think you're being a little harsh. Not everybody lives with all of their siblings. I have a half-brother and I've met him twice in my entire life because our mother lost custody of my sister and I long before he was born and she lost custody of us for being abusive and being married to an abusive man. Plus, she didn't spend much time or thought on us when we were growing up - called about 3 times a year, maybe sent a Christmas card, never sent any gifts. So yeah, I don't really have a relationship with him and he is very much just my half-brother to me as I don't even know him really. Now, my step-sister is a different story. Her mother and my father married when I was 2, our sister was 5 and she was 17. I've always thought of her as my sister and only use the term "step" when describing the whole family dynamic to strangers. But in reality, she is my sister and my step-mother is my mother because she is the woman who raised me. You have to leave some room for varying situations in your judgment.

katie_cj · May 2010

I agree.

My brother and my sister are technically halfs, but we never ever used those terms.

However, I have another brother and sister from my biological dad and I've just met them in the past few years. I still just call them my brother and sister.

Anika11 · May 2010

I think the term is situational. It helps to clarify, but it is not meant to imply that one is only half the quality of a "full" (?) sibling.

Mrs. Rohde · May 2010

I use them to describe situations. Not to introduce someone, Hi, this is my half sister.... I just say sister.

~AllSmiles~ · May 2010

emiliemadison:
I agree under most circumstances. However, sometimes its easier to say "half-sibling" than to clarify a situation. Like, if my 35 year old husband was to mention his 3 year old BROTHER, most people would assume (based on experience, here) that his mother and father had another child together in their late 50s, and it requires a bit of explaining- every time. But if he says his HALF-brother, it's almost automatically assumed that this is the child of his father from a 2nd marriage, thus requiring much less explanation.
He doesnt call his brother his "half-brother" to anyone who knows us and and certainly not TO his brother.

This exactly. All three of my sisters are equally my sisters, but my two half sisters are a lot older than me and my younger sister, so when talking about them to others, I do use the term half-sisters sometimes.

TexasPaige · May 2010

I have a half brother who is 14 years younger than me. Sometimes people will comment, "Oh, so he's your half brother" when they figure out his dad is actually my stepdad. I really do have to think for a split second before confirming that they are right. I have never once thought of him as my half brother.

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