Regarding an only child:
"So much pressure on this little person, to be the one and only. Unfair but true."
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Not for a second!
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Nope!
The only thing that comes to mind that's negative about being an only child is the lack of an everyday companion at home. But I believe that if the parents work hard enough at setting up playdates and fostering good relationships with other kids and friends nearby and making them a part of their only child's every day life, you can totally make it work just fine.
I know only children who loved being an only child, and I know only children who wished they had a sibling growing up. It can really go either way.
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That is weird. I grew up pretty much an only child (I have half brother 10 years older) and I never felt pressure.
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Not at all! So offensive!
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Nope! I agree with @mrs. wagon:
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Nope. Change "one and only" to "oldest" and you have how I felt growing up; having siblings doesn't mean there's no pressure!
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@Bookworm: Exactly this!
I'm the middle child, but the only girl. I have the most pressure out of the 3 of us simply b/c I'm the girl and my mom expects me to be there for her 24/7.
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only here. do not agree. i didn't feel pressure because i was the only one, but i couldn't get away with anything because the focus was always on me. (for better or worse).
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nope. i think that any child in a birth order could feel this way!
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Nope. Not at all.
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No. I’m an only child and I didn’t experience any pressure growing up. Then again, my parents were pretty laid back for the most part. They didn’t expect me to be some over achiever. They just wanted me to try my best, and I did.
I think that statement has way more to do with the parents than the kid. I’ve never known an only child who felt that he/she had to be the best of the best because they didn’t have siblings. However, I have known of parents who expected a hell of a lot from their kid both as a child and an adult.
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Absolutely not true.
Check out this article on the subject. Very interesting.
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/12/the_war_on_only_children/ -
I'll be honest. If we are unable to have another child, I think I would have a hard time not putting pressure on my son. It wouldn't be on purpose, of course! But I think it would be hard for me not to invest all of myself (energy, money, time-- everything!) into him if he was going to be an only child, and I think it would be easy for him to then internalize some guilt or pressure to achieve because of the work I'd put into it. (Especially if he's anything like DH.) The fact that we plan to have more children makes me a much more relaxed mom (I'm more aware that I have to pace myself and what I put into X), which, I hope, will in the end, make him feel less pressure. And, keep me more sane and grounded for the long haul, through another child (or 2 or 3?)
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I prefer to have more than one child and I always thought that only children were lonely. BUT I dont agree with that statement at all
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I don't agree with that statement at all.
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15 comments