What are the pros and cons to only having one child?

Answer 1

cons - less socialization, no sibling bonding, don't learn to share early on, may be spoiled rotten :P

pros - more money for activities, more time with parents, learn to be more independent

I am an only child, and for me the worst part is not having an automatic best friend in another sibling like a lot of other people I know, but the best part is that I am infinitely more independent than all of my friends, which is helpful now that I am in college. Instead of being close to a sibling, though, I am very close with my parents. Good trade off, I think.

Answer 2

I have been thinking a lot about this issue recently, as I have one daughter (aged 2 and a half) and I am beginning to get a little broody. After careful consideration, no matter what any theory says, I guess there is no right answer. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I am one of four and felt like an only child when both my parents died of cancer and I looked after them during their long illnesses. However, despite the bickering and constant squabbling which used to make our parents miserable, I couldn't have imagined life without them while I was growing up. From a parenting point of view, I have come to terms with the fact that this is an issue which often draws unwanted advice from relatives, friends and sometimes complete strangers. The feeling I ofen get is that you are looked upon somewhat as a less worthy parent if you haven't had at least two - however here in Italy having three is seen as a bit o.t.t.
As each person is different, every parent should ask themselves whether they would be as good a parent with another child, or do they want to go ahead in order to simply provide a sibling for their first? If the latter is the case, I don't think it's a good enough reason. In my case, I have a great relationship with my daughter, however I don't think I would be as good with two - I tend to fly off the handle for silly things and I don't think I would have the patience to put up with sibling troubles.

Answer 3

PROS - 1. You do not have to spend as much money.
2. You can get to know your child better.
3. You can spend more time with your child.
4.Your child might become more mature than other children.
5. When they get older you can have a better chance of paying for the college education or at least help.
6. You can spend more time to help them with the little things going on in their life.
7. They feel like they can talk to you more than if you have two or more children.
8. They well not have to worry about their bother or sister fighting with them or stupid things.
9. You can help them out with their homework and help them become smarter than some of the other children in the classes.
10. So much more so there is not enough more to type it all.

CONS - 1. They would not any brothers or sisters.
2. After the parents passed on they might feel lonely.
3. They might become spoiled.
4. They might become little brats.
6. There are more but I personaly prefer the PROS.

Answer 4

Pro - you only have one to buy Christmas and birthday presents for
Pro - they have all your attention, if you're careful not to spoil them they will be more grown up and responsible
Con - they will feel lonely, particularly if their friends have siblings, but this isn't so bad if they have close cousins
Con - you have to amuse them a lot more than if they had siblings
Pro - no fighting to break up
Con - you may have to invite a friend on holiday so they don't get bored as they get older

I personally would like to have more at some stage, but I don't feel my 5-year-old is missing out by not having siblings. He's close to his cousins and has lots of friends and I'm pretty much on my own and couldn't cope with more at the moment.

Everyone wishes they had different childhoods - I always wanted a sister but got a bratty brother, my friend always wanted a brother but got a sister who pinched her make-up, I didn't want to be the oldest, my ex hated being in the middle and another friend hated being the youngest. There is no best answer, but I don't believe only children suffer any more than children with siblings so long as the parents are sensible.

Answer 5

Hmmm I have an only child and have never seen any "Cons" to it. I never had to deal with sibling rivalry, my daughter was not spoiled as most people will ASSume. She was taught to be respectfull as well as respectable. She gets along with people of all ages, from infants to nursing home patients.
Of course for the child there is a bad side. If something in the home gets broken you can't blame a sibling. (Trying to pin it on the dog doesn't work either especially if your family has a small dog that can't open the freezer door) while most children have imaginary friends only children tend to have more and sometimes "hang on to" them longer than children with siblings but I don't consider that "bad". ANY child who isn't superivsed, isn't taught manners and right and wrong can be spoiled, even in a LARGE family. That has nothing to do with being an only child. Children are not spoiled because they are the only child they are spoiled because their parents have no parenting skills.
And contrary to the consensus here, it is NOT harder to teach an only child the concept of sharing. I've seen children with more than one sibling have problems learning the concept of sharing.

Answer 6

I had one child. I knew he would be an only from the start-
I was lucky to have him! We kept other children around m from the beginning. If you look around-famlies with 1 kid move out faster, have more fun together and are not as stressed out. That may have a lot to do with money.Mine is well adjusted, thoughtful and very bright.
The hard part, is being the parent of an only! You have to keep busy with other things and not smother! When he got married I was thrilled-a daughter,too! I spoil her(she was 1 of 5) so she is thrilled!

Answer 7

I'm an only child, so I'll give you the perspective of the child.

Pros -
- I never had to share anything
- I get all my parents' attention
- I get all my parents' money
- I have gotten just about everything I've ever wanted
- I think I matured a lot faster than most kids because all I ever did was hang out with adults, not other kids

Cons
- I was dreadfully lonely (used to cry myself to sleep at night begging for a sibling)
- My parents paid attention to every little thing I ever did, which was annoying
- My social skills suffered, I didn't share, I didn't have those sibling fights, etc. I'm very shy.
- I missed out on having a loving sibling relationship. I hate that to this day. I'm so jealous of my hubby, he has two siblings
- when my parents get old, I'll be the only one there to try to take care of them. when they die, that's it, i'm alone.
- I hate being the only child, I feel different.
Main ones I can think of for parents:
Pros for parents - they save money, less trouble
Cons for parents - they have to deal with their only child begging for siblings

Answer 8

I was an only child and I wasnt spoiled. I got what I needed but my parents never over did it. My parents and I were really close and spent alot of time together but that did make finding friends my own age alittle harder. Because of being an only child I think I have a much more active imagination. I liked being the only child

Answer 9

Pros: more time and money to spend on one child, not having to split things (toys/clothes/money) among more than one child, can easily become spoiled

Cons: child will not have the benefits of having a sibling to love and play with, he may not learn the lessons of sharing

Answer 10

In the interests of full disclosure: I'm an only child and both of my parents are only children. I'm pregnant with my second child.

Pros:

-$$$
-You can focus more on the one child--help them more, identify problems quicker, perhaps get to know them better
-You don't have to worry about sibling rivalry. No " you loved him/her more" "he got this" blah , blah, blah
-No adult sibling rivalry. I know some adult siblings who fight worse than they did when they were kids, and the results are messier. ex: fighting over estates, fighting when their children don't get along, fighting over who should take care of mom and dad
-Imagination--lots of only children build imaginary worlds to compensate for not having another kid around the house
-Strong sense of responsibility--there have been studies that equate only children with the first born child in terms of feeling a strong sense of responsibility toward their family and a driving ambition to achieve
--Greater tolerance for being alone--physically alone and alone between relationships

Cons

--problems with teaching sharing--everybody is talking about being spoiled and not sharing; however, I suffered from the problem on the other end. I was so anxious to have someone to play with that I never stood up for myself when another kid took the toy I was playing with or broke my toy. Having siblings helps you learn to stand up for yourself
--spoiled???? I know one only child that was spoiled, but I have to say I don't think this necessarily is a problem related to how many kids you have. This is a parent problem. It does not automatically follow that an only child gets everything he wants. I did get a lot of toys a Christmas, but other than that my parents were very tight. I did not whine when I didn't get the "it" toy of the moment because I knew it wouldn't do any good with my parents. However, I did see some of my friends that did. My parents certainly weren't spoiled. Their parents could squeeze a penny til it screamed.
--eccentric-maybe this isn't required either, but I, my parents, and most only children I know are pretty eccentric. Maybe it's related to a lot more alone time and the resulting imagination growth and introversion. Taken in small doses, eccentricity is fine, but it can be overdone. It certainly makes fitting in at school harder. This is the main reason I'm having two kids at least.
--lack of family continuity--when my grandparents started to die off, it got really hard. I think having siblings (and aunts and uncles) might give you a sense that the family is a living breathing thing that lives on. My family always felt like an endangered species.