(WHIMSICAL MUSIC) (BIRDS CHIRP) (CHILDREN LAUGH) Brothers and sisters ` Oh, Mabel. High five. Love them... You won't fall off. I'll keep you safe. ...or loathe them. (CRIES) Then he just grabbed my arm and threw me. There's no escaping them. Daddy! If you want her, you can keep her. GROANS: Be quiet! For those of us who have siblings ` and 80% of us do ` it's probably gonna be the longest relationship of our entire life. (CHILDREN LAUGH, THUNDER RUMBLES) It's British summertime,... (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) ...and seven children are meeting up for a camping holiday. Oh my... goodness! Look! I'm roasting two! They made friends last summer. I missed you, Lola. I missed you too! But now they've got their younger siblings in tow. (GROANS) Ow! It's always ruined when siblings are doing it! Joining them in the great outdoors will be scientists observing their every move. The way we resolve conflict with our young brothers and sisters can predict our conflict resolution styles as adults. GIRL: Don't say 'no' to your big sister! No. There's no boundaries here. They're out of their comfort zone. This might bring these brothers and sisters close together, or it might elicit some explosive conflict. You ready? (WHISTLE BLOWS) Pull! Brothers and sisters... side by side... in the wild. (ALL CHEER) (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) Over the next three days, a group of 5- and 6-year-olds will be camping with their families. They'll take part in a number of tasks to test the dynamics of the relationship with their younger siblings. Right, we need to go and find out which one of those tent's ours. Do you want me to get that for ya, Mabes? Yeah, please. Good girl. (GIGGLES) Careful of the sticks so that we won't fall over. First into camp are 5-year-old Lola and her 2-year-old sister, Mabel. This one must be ours! (READS) Lola and Mabel. Whoa! MUM: Is it good? Oh my... goodness! MUM: Oh, did ya start collecting sticks for the fire already? The transition to becoming an older brother or sister is seismic. These children have had all of their parents' attention for several years, and suddenly this younger, cuter, version comes along and sucks away their attention. It's a big stick! Put it in the fire, Mabel. Boom! This is a formative experience, and it'll be interesting to see how these older brothers and sisters are coping with it. (CHUCKLES) MUM: Oh, my goodness! Look at that one! (LAUGHS) Lola, look at this big stick! Whose is bigger? BOTH: Mine! INTERVIEWER: Do you two ever argue? No. Yeah! No! Yeah! No! Ready or not, here I come! Found you! (GIGGLES) She loves the idea of being the big sister. LOLA: She's doing brilliant. Just move your arms down a little bit and then step on to the next one. She takes it very seriously, doesn't she? BOTH: It's a very serious job. Lola and Mabel live in County Durham with baby brother Ossie; dad Jamie, a teacher; and mum Hayley, a teaching assistant. Cheese! Mabel loves the idea of being 'big'. If Lola is doing something, especially if it's deemed as being something that a big girl would do, then Mabel wants to be seen as being a big girl as well. She sees herself as being on` on that level. Yeah. I'm going to show you this first. It's very magic! (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) I think even with her name, Mabel, like a (LAUGHS) cantankerous old woman. Yeah, she is, yeah. I don't like that. Lola's a lot more serious in the sense that she likes things to be done properly. This is my Rapunzel doll. Mabel, forget about them. They are thick as thieves. They love playing together. They've got a strong bond. Lola, draw my foot! Yeah, they argue the same as any... I think` ...kids argue, you know, but they do love each other. LOLA: Aww. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Yep! Mine's definitely taller. Mine is thicker. Tia! Lola! Next to arrive are 5-year-old Tia with 2-year-old sister, Amelia-Rose. Hi, Lola! Hi, Tia! As scientists, we study children with their brothers and sisters ` usually in the home environment ` or we study children with their friends, with their peers. We never see that dynamic together. This is a really unique opportunity to see how these children negotiate the demands of brothers and sisters and their peers at the same time. Hello, Mabel. Hi. I missed you, Lola! I missed you too! INTERVIEWER: Who gets into trouble with your parents the most? No! Little Missy over here next to me. (EXCLAIMS) MABEL: We're big girls, aren't we? Yes. How old's Amelia? Um, she's only 2. Amelia. Amelia. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Next into camp are 5-year-old Tyler and his 3-year-old sister, Hayden. Heya! Hi, Tyler. Hi. Since last summer, Tyler's been diagnosed as being on the low end of the autistic spectrum. Now you want one of them. INTERVIEWER: What is the best thing about being brother and sister? Uh,... it's` It's good to have my little sister. Isn't it? Stop hurting me. Tyler's waiting for his best friend, Theo, to turn up. They haven't seen each other for nearly a year. You have to wait for Theo. I left a piece of cake for Theo. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Tyler! Theo's here! Come on, let's go and see Theo, guys! Come on! Come on! Theo! Tyler was desperate for seeing ya! I just already` I just already` 5-year-old Theo is the only child in his house. Being an only child can put you at a little bit of a disadvantage, because you're not having the same interactions as you would if you had a sibling. However, what we see is that the social skills that you miss out on early on you tend to catch up with very quickly once you're within a peer group. Try our tent! Theo! Come over here. We saved you some oranges. Where's the cake that you gave him? Um, ha! Your dad ate it. (IMITATES BUS ENGINE) ...stick! (LAUGHS) That's ginormous. What are you playing with? My bus. (IMITATES BUS ENGINE) Yeah, you don't even like busses, don't you? I do. I love busses. I love busses. I like busses. And I like the underground trains. And this is the 5-0-1. Tyler and Hayden live in Hertfordshire. Mum, Nikita, runs a photographic studio, and Dad, Jamie, is an engineer. (GIGGLES) When Hayden came along, Tyler was still quite young himself, so he found her quite fascinating. Hayden, what do you want to do now? Read or have a race with me? EXCITEDLY: Have a race! OK. It was really nice. It was like he had a best friend, a companion. He did ask me when she would be old enough to play 'busses', but the ironic thing is that now she is old enough, he doesn't want to play busses with her at all. No! That's mine! And he won't let her get involved, cos if she so much as even moves a tree that he's made, he goes absolutely crazy at her. (EXCLAIMS) No! No! No! I think with Tyler being on the` on the spectrum, it does` it does affect his relationship with Hayden. WHINES: No. No! That's mine! I'm not ever gonna love you any more, Tyler. Well, fine. Don't love me. It is sometimes a struggle for Hayden. If she is upset, Tyler doesn't always recognise it. Or if it's an emotion` If she's emotionally upset, then he doesn't understand it. (IMITATES BUS ENGINE) I do feel for her, because she just wants to join in with him. She just wants to socialise with him, and sometimes he just wants to be on his own. (GENTLE MUSIC) (IMITATES BUS ENGINE) (CHILDREN CHATTER) TIA: Quick, Theo! Run! Where are our tents? Wow! Last to arrive are 5-year-old Taylor and his 3-year-old sister, Maddison. INTERVIEWER: Do you two love each other? No. Yeah,... I do. CHILDREN: Taylor! TIA: Hi, Taylor! INTERVIEWER: Maddison, why do you love Taylor? Cos he's my best friend. That is not true. (GRUNTS) (GIGGLES) It's evening, and the children and their families are bedding down for the night. Theo, did you went to the proper toilet? Or did you just wee on` next to the tree? Next to the tree. (GIGGLES) That's silly! Tomorrow they'll be joined by two more children. And they'll spend the day away from the watchful gaze of their parents. Research shows that bringing a parent into the mix doubles conflict between brothers and sisters. Our scientists have come up with some specially designed challenges. With the tasks that we've devised ` without parents present ` we're interested to see whether there will be more or less conflict than we see at home. TIA: I'm going to wake up at 10 o'clock. Come here. CHILD: I'm gonna wake up at 10 o'clock. No kissing! OK. Go on, then. You can kiss me. (SPLUTTERS) Hey! LOLA: Night! See you in the morning. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) For as long as you remember, you've brushed all your teeth diligently. Mm-hm. Twice a day, right? Uh-huh. But 80% of your mouth's bacteria aren't even on your teeth. (MUFFLED) 80%? Shocking, isn't it? That's why you need Colgate Total. It fights bacteria on teeth, tongue, cheeks and gums. So 100% of your mouth's surfaces get protected every time you brush. Colgate Total - for whole mouth health. And for an even healthier mouth between brushings, try Colgate Total mouthwash. Ah, just a wee bit up. And to the right a little bit. Perfect! Oh, beauty, guys! Mmm. Maybe a touch left and down a bit. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) (BIRDS CHIRP) It's morning on day two at the campsite. INTERVIEWER: What was it like sleeping in the tent? It was nice and cosy. Mabel. There wasn't any monsters. It was good. I was scared of monsters in the tent. We sleeped in a beanbag. WHISPERS: Sleeping bag. Two more children have just arrived ` 6-year-old Alfie with his 2-year-old sister, Daisy. (EXCLAIMS EXCITEDLY) It's Alfie! Come on! TAYLOR: Hi, Alfie! Hi. Alfie! You've grown up, haven't ya? Yes. I'm 6 now, and my tooth has fallen out. How old are we all? (CHILDREN SHOUT) TIA: I'm 5! MABEL: I'm 2! ALFIE: 6! How old are you, little one? 2. Are you a good little sister? Yes. Got bad teeth. Wobbly tooth, she means. Wobbly tooth. One's already fell out. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Observing the children's every move is Professor Paul Howard-Jones and one of the UK's leading sibling scientists, Dr Alison Pike. Sibling relationships are incredibly important for children's development. They can be more influential than peers and even more important than parents. Parents live in the adult world. An older brother or sister is living in that child world. That's going to be a really pertinent role model for their younger brother or sister. Looking after the children are teachers Kate and Ollie, and they've asked everyone to meet at the hay bales. Ooh, here comes Mabel! Go and give your sister a hug. (GIGGLES) Lola! Come on. This is gonna be interesting, because Mabel is gonna want to sit with the big girls straight away, and Lola and Tia are very bonded now. Mm. Mm. I sit here. All right, then. Here. I sit here. Move over. Yes, move over. I'm keeping an eye on you. Why? Daisy, you gonna sit on some hay bales? Yeah? Yeah. Yeah. (GRUNTS) There we go. You're sat on a hay bale with me. I might fall off. You won't fall off. I'll keep you safe. (ALFIE SINGS A TUNE) So sweet! Alfie is being so protective of Daisy and really kind of like being a mini parent. Sort of, um, you know` He's seen her being jollied along, probably by his parents, by doing the 'jig jig jig', and he's` and he's taking on that role. Sit on my lap safely... where there is lots of nature to see. (GROANS) You're so heavy! There is a sense in which the little sibling is actually adding something to their status. Yes. Oh no! She's really turning her into a baby. She's planning to carry her around now. It's almost a fashion accessory. Yes! MIA: Do you know my sister's so cute? Is she cute? Is she cute? Yeah. If you want her, you can keep her. We are going to be doing a bit of a race in a second. (CHILDREN SHOUT EXCITEDLY) So what you and your sibling need to do is you need to race down, and you've got to go over the top of the hay bales. We've devised a task which is all about cooperation. You have to be mindful of your younger sibling's progress and well-being if you're going to win. Will the elder sibling rise to that challenge? Or will the younger sibling get left behind? First to race are Lola and Mabel against Tia and Amelia-Rose. On your marks. Get set. (WHISTLE BLOWS) Quick! Move! Amelia! Amelia's not ready. Amelia! Put on your boots! Oh, and the welly's off. This is hard! She is staying behind to put the welly on. She is, yeah. Get up! Quick! (PLAYFUL MUSIC) Mabel's not wanting to be led. If people are asking Mabel to move in the direction that she wants to go,... Yeah. Yeah. ...she's gonna get there very quick. Mabel! (PLAYFUL MUSIC CONTINUES) (LAUGHS) Quickly! OLLIE: Come on! Come on! Come on! KATE: Keep going! Keep going! (SCREAMS) (LAUGHS) KATE: Keep going, Tia. Go! Go! Go! TIA: We're trying to, but she lost her boots! LOLA: Yes! (PLAYFUL MUSIC) This time it is going to be Maddison and Taylor, and Tyler and Hayden. On your marks. Get set. (WHISTLE BLOWS) Go! Go! Go! Remember, help your sibling over. CHILD: Go, Amelia! Over you go, Hayden. TAYLOR: Come on, Maddy! Come on, Maddy! MADDISON: Taylor! Maddy, come on! (CHILDREN YELL) GIRL: Go, Taylor! Go, Taylor! GIRLS: Go, Taylor! Go, Taylor! TAYLOR: Quick! Come on, Maddy! Taylor's just pulling Maddison over, essentially, but it's working. GIRLS: Go, Taylor! TAYLOR: (GROANS) Ow! (BOTH LAUGH HYSTERICALLY) No! Tyler, you have to help your sister! (GIRLS) CHANT: Tyler! Tyler! Tyler's left Hayden behind. In the context of this exciting race, Tyler is having difficulty in recognising that his sister needs moral and physical support. KATE: Tyler! What about Hayden? You need to help her! (HAYDEN CRIES) There we go. Aw, well done. Thanks, Alfie. TAYLOR: Yay! We win! (HAYDEN CRIES) Its Alfie that goes` Sweetheart. It's Alfie that goes to provide the comfort. Aw, and Alfie is a nurturer. Look at him go. (SLOW PIANO MUSIC) (JAUNTY MUSIC) It's lunchtime at the campsite. The plane's coming! Doo! Doo! Choo-choo! The Metropolitan line is going to Ruislip through the tunnel. I'm helping (SINGS) my sister. Chugga chugga chugga, choo-choo! Ah! Chugga chugga chugga, choo-choo! (GROANS) Chugga chugga, choo-choo! GROANS: No. You don't say no to your big sister! Now, eat it. No. INTERVIEWER: Is Tia a good big sister? No. Um, she said yes. Press this. No! Amelia! They do play together, but I don't know maybe if it's playing together or playing amongst each other. Tag! You're it! Tia and Amelia-Rose live in Kent. Mum, Cheryl, runs a bookmakers, and Dad, Glenn, works in waste management. Eat it! (WHINES) Eat it! Tia, she's a really loud, bubbly personality ` bossy. Sit down and wait for your dinner! Amelia'd rather just sit in the background. She can be quite stroppy as well, though, can't she? She will tell Tia if she's had enough. No! Yes! (GIGGLES) She was really excited when Amelia first come along. She marched straight in, didn't she? 'I want to see my sister.' (GIGGLES) (LAUGHS) And then she started performing, didn't she? Every time, like, our parents came round ` just so people would look at her. 'Wa-ba-cha!' What do you think I'm gonna do with this child? Eat it! No! Chugga chugga (SINGS) Choo. Ahh. Amelia! I want you to` (SCREECHES) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) It's early afternoon, and Alfie and his family are going to pick up the final camper from the train station. Train-enthusiast Alfie thinks they're there to look at steam trains. We're going on the next train, Daisy. He doesn't know that his best friend, Emily, is just a few miles away with her dad. That is the biggest train in the world. DAD: Mind the gap. Emily and Alfie last saw each other three months ago. LAUGHS: I just saw Alfie. Are you sure? Oh my gosh, I see him... Emily! Alfie! (BOTH SHRIEK EXCITEDLY) Alfie. Aw, missed you. I missed you too. We're going on that train! I knew that was gonna happen s` I will never stop loving Emily. I knew that was gonna happen at some point. Well, yeah, because we are gonna marry each other. Yeah. After we've got married, we can see each other all the time. Yes! That is`! Mmm! Cos we will live together! Yeah, she'll be in the house with me all week. (WHISTLE BLOWS) Yeah, probably. Alfie has a very attentive and nurturing relationship with his younger sister. Now his best friend Emily is here, he's got this challenge of managing two very different relationships in a way that avoids rivalry. We are gonna toast marshmallows in the campsite! (DAISY EXCLAIMS) Whack the marshmallows in the fire! SCREAMS: Yeah! And then they'll burn to pieces. Daisy! I want to sit next to Emily. Daisy! I'm sitting next to her. (LIGHT-HEARTED MUSIC) Back at the campsite, the children are about to take part in a competition to see who can build the tallest tower. On Taylor's team is his sister, Maddison, along with Tyler and his sister, Hayden. And on Lola's team is Mabel, Theo and Tia with her sister, Amelia-Rose. Theo, come and sit down here. Building towers out of sticks and play dough is a tricky cognitive task that's gonna favour the elder children. But these elder children have another challenge ` the younger siblings need to feel part of the team. They need to get involved. Will the older child integrate them into the process, or will they just ignore them? KATE: And... go! (INDISTINCT CHATTERING) TAYLOR: Guys! Make! Everybody, get all the clay you can find. We're gonna make a massive one! Put the sticks on too! MABEL: Can I... help? After just five minutes, Mabel has left her sister's team to join Taylor's. Mabel! Mabel, get over here. You're in my team. TAYLOR: No! She's allowed to help our team. No, she isn't! TAYLOR: Yes, she is! Why did Mabel switch teams? Well, I like being on this team, then that team again! KATE: Ah, you're going to be on both, are you, Mabel? Yeah. You have to stay in the middle, then. INTERVIEWER: Does Mabel like to do a lot of things by herself? She tries to, but she always ends up doing` she always ends up crying. And saying, 'Lola, Lola, I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it.' I don't know how to make towers, Lola. Oh, Mabel. (MABEL SOBS) Mabel's gone to Lola for some cuddles. Now that she's unsure... Yes. ...about what she should be doing, she has gone to big sister. And Lola responds admirably. Yes. I've had a lot of practice to make` to make castles. And do you know what? What? Eventually, one day, I got it. You just have to keep trying and trying to make your own castle, see? That's how I learnt. Oh, Lola, I can't do it properly. Oh, Mabel. It's just a really nice thing to do... ...to co` to 'courage people. It's a bit like in The Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion's lost his courage. Keep trying, Mabel. We're sisters ` sisters forever. Oh, Mabel. She's almost abandoned the task completely ` completely forgotten about winning. All she's interested in is supporting her little sister. Yeah. Lola is acting almost like an on-the-spot, alternative source of parental comfort. And this is a beneficial arrangement ` not just for Mabel but also for Lola ` because it's encouraging her to develop her empathising and her social skills that will be very useful to her later in life. When I cry, she makes me happy again! Here's a bit of play dough for you. TIA: Quick! (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) KATE: Five,... four... Everyone start going to sit down on your` on your logs, please. Three,... two,... one. No, ours is taller than yours. No, ours is. No, ours is taller. Look! Look, it might` No, ours is taller! No, ours is! We'll just find out whose is taller. KATE: All right. Ooh! Theo, time's up. Time's up, Theo! He was just putting` He was just putting back on the detail of it. So, this one comes all the way up to there on my stick. All right, so that tall. Ooh, I think... this one just got in taller. So it came just up a little bit more, so that means the tallest tower is... Lola's team. (CHEERING) By just a little bit. (CHEERING) But I was very impressed with Taylor's tower. Taylor, your tower looks amazing, though. Well done. What amazing towers that you've both made. The trophy for the tallest tower goes to Lola's team. It's quite heavy. Be careful with it. GIRL: Is it a squirrel? It could be a squirrel's castle! Have a rematch! Have a rematch! Have a rematch! What's a rematch? (WHISTLE BLOWS) Now, what's Henderson doing wrong? Everyone? Anyone? Argh! UP&GO is the most important drink of the day. It's got the protein, energy and fibre of 4 Weet-Bix and milk. Nice one, Henderson! (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) It's morning on the third day at the campsite. So, the weather warnings on the news consolidated our suspicions that it was gonna... (LAUGHS) ...absolutely smash it down. It's like a mudslide out there now. It's awful. It was so rainy, we couldn't sleep in the tent. Mm-mm. So we all had to sleep next door to this room. Amelia, we need to get you dry, darling. It's cold. Look at it out there. We need to get dressed. (CHILDREN LAUGH) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Been splashing in a lot of muddy puddles. And I got so wet that I had to change my leggings. (CHILDREN CHATTER) Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop. That's what it does. So, what do the children think of the weather? Er, lovely. Lovely. BOTH: # It's raining. It's pouring. The old man is snoring. # Yeah, that's it. Joining Paul to observe the children is Dr Sam Wass. It's part of the fun, though. You have fun despite the rain. That's what you do. That's what we do as British people ` don't let it put us off. Next customer order, please! I wanna be a shopper too, Theo. OK. Do you wanna pretend we two shoppers are in love with each other, yeah? Yeah. K. Theo just lives with his mum and dad, but we can see that he's a great example of a child who's used his interactions with his peers to gain what other children learn from relationships with their siblings. Let's fill this up with, um, hay, should we? With the rain showing no signs of letting up, Kate and Ollie have gathered the children inside for the next task. Theo, do you want to hold this one over here? (CHILDREN SHOUTING) Yeah, OK. I can't hold. So, I was hoping you could draw me ` with your sister and your brother ` a picture of your family all together. You're gonna get one piece of paper in between each brother and sister. I love colouring. Yeah! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! What's really interesting about this drawing task that we've set our children is that the elder children have to share the drawing with the younger child. The truth is the drawing will probably end up worse for the younger child contributing. And it's going to be fascinating to see which of the elder children cope with this and which don't. This is gonna be such a pretty picture. No, Amelia. That doesn't work! No! (WAILS) ANGRILY: Amelia! EMOTIONALLY: No, no, no! Get off! Amelia's... No! No! Amelia scribbled on it. I want my own piece now. That won't do anything! Yes, it will. But it's silly. It is. Do your own family. For many parents, conflict between siblings is one of the things that concerns them most. It's important to remember, though, just how normal this is. Siblings fight, on average, up to eight times an hour. It's also important to remember how much your child is learning from this. They're learning how to negotiate and to manage when someone else wants something different. And they're learning the conflict-resolution skills that will serve them well in adult life. Mabel, you don't know how to colour. I'm not having that on my piece of paper. (LAUGHS) Mabel's expression is like ` 'Here we go again.' (LAUGHS) I'm throwing this in the bin. No! No! No! Kate! KATE: Yes? I'm trying to teach her how to colour in, but she's just done a big, massive... I just started it, and then this came along. (BABBLES) That's what came along. And I wanted a nice... keeped-in-the-lines picture. That's what I wanted. KATE: So, what`? What needs to happen now? Put it in the bin. Right, do you need another sheet of paper? Maybe, yes. Right, you'll have less time to finish your picture, so you need to work together to do it. What do you think about this birthday cake picture, Lola? (SIGHS) Tear it to bits! I never ever want it scribbled on. I just want it to be a nice picture of my family. EMILY: Let me do her hair. Alfie and Emily have been playing with Daisy since Emily arrived yesterday afternoon. Oh, good, Daisy. Good. Alfie has a very nurturing relationship with Daisy that he expresses very clearly and explicitly. That provides a perfect pattern, or model, for Emily to emulate. And when she does emulate it, what you see emerging out of this is almost a nuclear family unit. With the pictures complete, the children show and tell. This is my family when my baby sister was first born ` Daddy, Mummy, Amelia ` in Mummy's tummy ` and Princess and me. Quite interesting that Tia has drawn Amelia-Rose in her mummy's tummy. She's obviously thinking back to that time as a very significant moment. It's one of the biggest transitions you go through as a child ` you know, the minute you go from being an only child to suddenly there's someone else. There's almost a bit of wish fulfilment about it. Sometimes I think Tia does wish that Amelia was... BOTH: ...back in her mummy's tummy. Well, actually, I don't like being the eldest child... because, um, well, really everybody pays attention to Moo-Moo now, and I get no attention. Only Moo-Moo gets lots of attention now. I only get some attention. It's a massive impact for a child when a younger sibling arrives. An eldest child who has got used to being the centre of uninterrupted attention from their parents suddenly having to share that attention with a new brother or sister. It takes time to get over that sense of displacement, and some children never do. You like it? (CHILDREN CHATTER) What? Why don't ya like it? (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) Mabel said she doesn't like it. Mabel, what did you say about her paint` her drawing? Why not? I asked Mabel if it was nice. She said,... 'Not nice.' And she told me it wasn't nice for... no reason! INTERVIEWER: How does that make you feel? Um, a bit sad. (RAIN PATTERS) This is so cool! Yeah, it's nice, isn't it? Yeah! It's muddy. # Jumping in a muddy puddle! Jumping in a muddy puddle! BOTH: # Walking in a walking thing! # (BOTH LAUGH) It's afternoon on the campsite, and some unexpected guests have arrived. Aww. No, they're not, Mabel. They're friendly. No, they don't. We've never even been near sheep. The elder children have been asked to feed the lambs, and they've been given one bottle to share with their sibling. But they're only allowed to drink one whole bottle. That's gonna be difficult because they're gonna become so excited when they're feeding these little animals. They're not going to want to share, are they? They're not gonna want to pass the milk bottle over. Hold it tight. Ah! It's OK, Tia! (BOTH LAUGH) They fighted over it. Like this. (GOBBLES) They're crazy! Would you like to have a drink? (GIGGLES) I bet he's gonna do a big poo later. They were, like, pulling on the bottles. Weren't they, Daisy? They were pulling the bottles. (LAUGHS LOUDLY) (LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY) Crazy! TIA: My goat loves milk so much. (YELPS) Amelia, no! It was good, wasn't it, Moo-Moo? No! Yes it was, you doughnut. (GIGGLES) KATE: Hold it tight. (GIGGLES) So, it's really lovely to see` Look at the warmth in Tyler's face here. He's got this big smile` Having a fantastic time. Yeah, it's lovely to see him, kind of, caring and interacting with these animals with so much warmth. Animals can offer therapeutic value for children on the autistic spectrum. They can provide a source of non-judgemental and calming interaction. The lambs were nice. I do like the lambs. They're so cute. They're so beautiful. And they're good to me, and they` they` they do, 'Baaaaa!' That's what they do. They like me. (LAUGHS) THEO: I want to have a go. (CRIES) I want to have a go. Now Hayden has found somebody who does know how to share with a sibling, and she's gone over to Lola. And Lola is finding a way of allowing her to participate in the activity. This is fun. (GIGGLES) Yeah. The bottle's nearly finished. What we've seen is that Hayden is able to seek out the emotional support that she can't get from her brother from others around her. And that's really important that Hayden's able to do that. (BOTH YELP) Licked me! (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) (BIRDS CHIRP) (CHILDREN LAUGH) One, two, three. So funny. (WHIMSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES) I've got a very big stick. Look at that, Theo! Yep. I was quite worried that Tyler wasn't gonna join in, but he has been, hasn't he? He's done quite a bit. He's been playing with the other children rather than just going off on his own, so it's been great. Great den! It's been fantastic to see these children in the great outdoors. It feels as though taking those boundaries away, giving them more freedom, has really allowed them to show the very best of themselves. Sit down! (GIGGLES) One of the things that's been fantastic about this has been to see how children interact when their parents aren't there watching them. Mabel, do you want to go on the swing over there? That one. Sure, I'll slow down. It seems that taking the parents out of the room has reduced the conflict that we see between children. Mabel. Ready, steady, pull. Daisy, just go round the side of the log and find some things. Yeah? Shall we play? Shall we play down here? Above all else, we've seen the strength and the value of that bond that they share with their younger sibling. (PEACEFUL PIANO MUSIC) (FIRE CRACKLES) Look! I'm roasting two! Maddison, I'm winning this one for you. (BLOWS) Uh, a little bit more maybe, just turning. INTERVIEWER: How much do you two love each other? To the moon and back. To the moon and back. Tyler is my brother. And I love him so, so, so much. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC) You've got it all over your mouth, Tia. (LAUGHTER, CHATTER) INTERVIEWER: What's it like having a little sister? It's like a dream come true and a nightmare. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES) I like playing with her. I take care of her when she's sad. I don't like her getting sad. (SHOUTS) INTERVIEWER: What's it been like camping with your sister? It's good because we do stuff with each other. Cos we've never done that. We always go in separate rooms. Having a younger sibling has forced our children to realise that not everybody wants what they want. They've had to learn how to negotiate, how to compromise and how to be patient. But they've also had to learn how to be the stronger one in a relationship ` how to nurture, how to protect and how to take responsibility. These are skills that are gonna serve these children throughout the rest of their lives. Having a younger sibling could be the making of them. (GROANS) Oh, 'Give me a cuddle, Taylor.' What?!