Growing up as an only child can sometimes have its perks, but when I mentioned to people that I grew up as an only child they would give me the “aw poor thing!” look. Honestly I loved being an only child, I didn’t have to share my toys with anyone but you can see that being happy about not sharing makes you sound greedy. Being an only child didn’t really bother me but thinking back on it, there are some advantages and disadvantages that I went through.
Disadvantages:
- Being the only kid in my household meant playing by myself a lot. I would constantly have to make different voices for each Barbie by myself.
- The chores, I did it all by myself. I didn’t have anyone to divide the chores with. So by the time I was 14, I pretty much knew how to clean an entire house.
- When I got in trouble there was no way to get out of it. I didn’t have anyone to blame it on, I was a one-kid show!
- I was not used to sharing. All the toys in the house were mine and mine only, I didn’t have to worry about a little sister/brother braking them. So when other kids would come to play, it meant that I had to share and I did, but deep inside I really didn’t want to.
- “You must have been spoiled” is one of the comments that would always annoy me when people find out I’m an only child. I actually was a little but it still bothered me that people would quickly assume this.
- Tight spaces freak me out. I’m not use to siblings constantly invading my personal space, so when I’m in a situation where I’m in a crowded room I’m really freaking out.
Advantages:
- As I grew older I started being more independent. I had to solve my problems on my own because I had no one my age to solve the problem with.
- With independence comes maturity, spending most of my time with adults taught me how to properly act around them.
- My parent’s attention was always on me which it’s always nice.
- As an only child I felt the pressure to do great at school and it pushed me to do so.
- Not being around kids all the time made me be a friendly kid and my group of friends would constantly grow.
- I got the entire back seat of the car to myself. So no obnoxious sibling was breathing on my ear.
- I developed a wild imagination since I spent a lot of times on my own.
- I didn’t have to go through sibling rivalry. Now, watching siblings fight as an outsider always makes me uncomfortable.
- I’m always the favorite child!
- I have a really close relationships with my parents.
The implications of being an only child are not as negative as once perceived. It has been proven that an only child can lead a life that is just as full and rewarding as a family with many children.
