Parents get a lot of credit. They have their own holidays, where they get special gift baskets or flowers. We also celebrate grandparents and our sisters as well. It is too often, that our brothers get overlooked. They never get anywhere near the recognition they deserve, and that is unfair.

They tease you and may have driven you crazy a time or two, but they will also protect you and love. So I have come up with 15 reasons to remind you about awesome benefits of having older brothers.

1. He taught you how to understand boys and men

Guys can be particularly difficult to deal with, and for a girl, having an older brother provides great insight on understanding them. Whether they help by giving advice or lead by example; our brothers have taught us about how we deserve to be treated in the dating world. They
are our own personal safari guides that help navigate through the treacherous nightmare that is dating. From them we learn to identify the rats from the vultures and the slugs from the tigers.
Having an older brother and his advice can help you avoid a lot of heartache or, at least, get through it.

3. He will always protect you

Sometimes a girl just needs to be protected by her older brother(s). Think of them as a glorified body guard. Men take on a very protective role when it comes to the well-being of their little sisters. Whether it's by giving advice on your life, or intimidating the last douche-balloon you dated; you don't have to worry about anything with your older brother(s) in the picture.

4. You teach him about compassion

Remember all those times you convinced your big bro to play hair salon, dress up and barbies with you? Or begging mercilessly to let you play video games with him? And you can't forget all those times you did something to piss him off. Even though, it is impossible for older brothers to stay mad at their little sisters for too long. It is because of all those memories that you brother understands how to be compassionate.

5. He teaches you what's cool

From a young age, a girl will turn to her older brother(s), who seem to have more knowledge and expertise about the world. It started out by showing you how to throw up a peace sign or flipping the camera off. You learn all sorts of of rad stuff form older brothers. Personally, my brothers have the best taste in movies and music. There for, now know what movies to watch and what bands to listen to.

6. He taught you how to compete

Older brothers are great because they teach you how to tap into your competitive side. They give you good insight into the male dominant world of competition. As you grow up and try to succeed in any career this will become an asset.

7. He introduced you to sports

For most young girls, an older brother is the one who teaches them about sports and team loyalty. With and older brother, chances are, you have a lot of fond memories of watching your brother chase some ball down a random field. And thanks to that, you now understand the concept that is sports.

8. He took the brunt of the parenting

Having older siblings means that someone already absorbed the worst of the parenting skills. By the time you come around, the parental units have already seen it all. Now they are more relaxed and a tad more refined. That is the nice way of saying you got away with a lot more than you should have. You have your older brothers to thank for that!

9. He is your own personal super hero

Your older brothers are just that. Your own personal super hero.They have been there since day one; watching you grow up, make mistakes, and lending a hand when they can. They may not know it and so it is our job to remind them of how great they are.