Are you an only child or know someone that is??

Question

I have 1 biological child that lives with me. I have 2 boys that I consider my own but don't live with us. My daughter gets bummed sometimes that she doesn't have a sibling to fight with & play with. But it's too late for me to have another one & I really don't want one. If you're an only child could you tell me some of the benefits? I tell her that if she did have siblings then I wouldn't be able to give her everything I do but sometimes I guess that doesn't matter.

Answer 1

I chose to have an only child for this very real reason: you can not choose your siblings and may in fact totally hate them. Yet you are forced to be with them everyday till you leave home and to endure them for your whole life. Its easy to imagine all your brothers and sisters are great fun and just like you...but that is often not the case. You can choose friends, you can choose when you see them...you get a choice. My son has siblings that never lived with us too, so he never gets the bad side of the relationships.

Answer 2

im an only child and i live with my dad. Being the only girl of an over protective parent is really hard. It would be a lot easier if i had an older brother because that way my dad wouldn't worry about me soo much, but there are good things to being a single child.

You get more attention from your parent(s) and you get a lot more things than you probably would if you had a sibling. Another thing is that you have a lot less responcibility than you would if you had a younger brother or sister. I also think that its good that you get a lot more privacy and you dont have to worry about people looking through your things.

These are just some good things about being an only child. I guess there are more good than bad if you really think about it. But one thing that i am learning as a teenager is that you always want what you can't get. Another thing i am learning is that things don't always turn out the way you thought it would be.


Hope this helps you to understand how your daughter feels, and i hope i could answer your question.

Answer 3

I was an only child for 11 years until my mom had my sister (she had female problems.) I guess the benefits would be that you do better in school because when you are an only child, your parents make you focus on it more. When there's more children, it's harder for kids to get help with school work, so sometimes they don't do as well.
An only child usually gets more things, materialistic things. Because there is only one child, they have the money to give that child what it needs or wants. I don't know if that is the issue in your case, but that's how it was for me anyway. My parents had the money to give me things they never had as kids growing up. The more children you have, the less money you have to spend on them. So, they get less things.
My husbands cousin is an only child and he's thrived from being an only child. He did well in school. Went to college. Graduated from college. He was in sports. He moved to another state. He got a nice job, bought a house and got married. So, a only child can certainly benefit from being one.
The one thing I'd like to add though: the one down side is that some don't have any socialization skills because they don't have anyone to play with or talk to. My husband's cousin needed speech therapy. I suspect that may not be the problem here, but it can be in some cases. Play groups are in a good idea for an only child.
I hope this answered your question.

Answer 4

I am an only child, I have 3 sons who for what reason I know not, couldnt care less about one another really. (they are all married)but benefits of being an only child.. There never have been any. My mother couldnt have other children for medical reasons, but I was lonely, when small, and I get even lonelier as I get older. Granted I got given more stuff, but in the end you dont want material goods etc, you just want the company of someone really close to you. Just make sure your child can have someone to sleep over etc with ., that would help.Also getting special pet would be something the child could bond with.

Answer 5

I grew up an only child. One benefit I see now as an adult is that I was really close to my parents. And I believe I matured a little faster. As for what to say to her now, you know what, I don't know. I guess letting her know that all families are different. She is in a special family where she gets to be the child center of attention. Then include your boys more as part of the family. If they aren't where they can visit at least talk about them. Then find cousins or friends that she can have around. Also, only children and first born are considered leaders. That's a benefit, don't you think?

Answer 6

I'm sort of in your situation. My daughter is an only child. Sometimes she asks me if she can have a little brother or sister and I've explained to her that it just would not work out.

My father was also an only child. But his is what the situation should NOT be. His mother was very cold and unnurturing and his father was too henpecked to help.

In a nurturing environment, she should be just fine.

Answer 7

I am an only child and our daughter is also an only. I will be honest with you, there were times when I was younger that I wished I had a brother or sister, especially when I went to my friends houses and their brother or sister were there. But, it passed soon. My mom and dad were very careful not to spoil me, but I did have their undivided attention. I learned to occupy myself and to this day, I am very content to be alone when my husband and daughter are out of the house. Our daughter is very confident, self-sufficient and never caused us one day of trouble when she was a teenager. She is a wonderful artist and is in college learning to be a game artist and designer. Are there times that I wished we had another baby? Yes. But it didn't happen and we are OK with that.

Answer 8

err... none that I can think of really. Having a sibling is a lot more enjoyable, plus it's been scientifically proven that only children tend to be very highly strung, irritable people who are perfectionists in the extreme. On the bright side, you don't have to share your toys or parents with another kid, however, I think that only children miss out on a lot of social lessons and are forced to grow up fast because they spend all of their time with adults. I recommend that you get her a dog to help with having an immature companion.

Answer 9

i'm an only child and i never had to share my toys! (i was still taught about sharing, though). i never had to worry about a sibling "tagging along" when i was a teenager, and i never got compared to anybody else by my fanily.