This week there was National Sibling Day, and my social media was filled with some of the sweetest pictures and words of gratitude to siblings from siblings. Normally I don’t think so much about being an only child, but seeing all the sibling love on that day caused my mind to start wandering. I’d always wished for a sibling, from the time I was able to understand what the concept of one was. Still to this day I sometimes want one, but then I remember that I am part of a relatively small group of 23 percent that’s an only child, and that’s pretty neat.
In honor of being an only child, and for my fellow only children out there, I present to you six great things about being an only child.
1. You have a close relationship with your parents.
When you’re an only child, your parents become your best friends and it's a close-knit bond that lasts. Your parents are your people, through the good times and the bad.
2. You learn how to entertain yourself.
If there's nobody to play with, you're both Barbie and Ken, pitcher and catcher, and you create one man plays. There's nothing quite like the skill of being able to self-entertain, right?
3. "So you get everything you want, right?" Um, not quite.
An only child life is not always like that of Blair Waldorf; sometimes your parents make you work for what you want and earn it, and sometimes they say no. Just like the song goes, "You can't always get what you want."
4. Bossy or taking initiative?
There's a stigma that only children are bossy. I can't quite dispel that myth, but I'd prefer to think of it as taking initiative. (I believe it comes from that self-entertainment.)
5. You never have to worry about sharing!
I heard horror stories about siblings stealing food and taking clothes and other things. Phew, dodged that one. Didn't we, only children?
6. You actually end up with more siblings than you thought.
Even if you aren't born with siblings, you have friends that become like your brothers or sisters and cousins that are raised like siblings. Even if you're born into a family alone, you're never raised alone.
Yes, the inner workings of being an only child are sometimes complex and it isn't always good friends and bonding with your parents, but it's exactly where I am and it's where I'm going to be. So while I may not be celebrating National Sibling Day next year, I'll continue to smile at the bond siblings have and enjoy having my parents and my things all to myself!
