1. Being asked annoying questions such as, “Do you wish you had siblings?" or "So are you really spoiled?" As surprising as it might be to those of you with siblings, we only children aren't a totally different species. Although our childhood may have been a little less traditional compared to that of a multiple child household, we weren't raised all that differently from you. We are much more similar than you all seem to think.
2. Dealing with the various stereotypes associated with only children. Thanks to some not-so-pleasant only children who are spoiled beyond belief, we have all gotten a bad name. People easily forget that there are just as many spoiled and unpleasant children with siblings as there are only children but unfortunately, we get stuck with the bad rep.
3. When you are asked how many siblings you have. Whenever I answer this question, I can immediately feel the judgments forming in people's heads.
4. Being told, “You don't seem like an only child." It might be hard to believe, but we don't actually take this as a compliment. Rather, it just reminds us that we are stigmatized by the only children stereotypes, and have to prove that we aren't as bad as they make us out to be.
5. Our parents can be a bit overprotective. This is one stereotype that is actually true. I am always being teased for how much my parents call me when I'm at school, or how they know every detail of my life, right down to when my homework assignments are due. The constant check-ins can be annoying, but we learn to deal.
6. Family vacations are either hit or miss. In one situation, we luck out and our parents allow us to invite a friend to bring along. In the less fortunate situation, the three of us go away alone, and we're stuck going down water slides with our parents.
7. Watching your friends fight with their siblings can be very uncomfortable. Even for those of us who “don't seem like only children," there are certain things that we are just not used to. Sibling feuds are one of these things. The concept of being able to fight like you hate each other, but end the day loving each other is completely foreign to us.
8. We hate sharing the back seat. A perk of being an only child was always having the back seat to ourselves on road trips. This makes it that much harder to be squeezed in the middle seat of our friend's car. Sorry in advance if we're a little difficult when it comes to this.
9. We never had anyone else to blame. If we broke something or got caught stealing out of our parents' liquor cabinets, our parents always knew it was us. On occasion we might be able to get away with blaming a mess on the pet, but it would be pretty hard to convince them that the cat drank dad's beer.
10. As we get older, our parents get more sentimental. Every goodbye I say to my mom before going back to school gets a little bit harder for her. She always teases that she's going to move in with me and go back to school, and each time she seems more serious. A child leaving the nest is hard for any parent, but when you're the only child, there are definitely a few more tears shed.
