Everyone has their own opinions and thoughts about only children and their personalities. However, what many people don't know is that it's almost impossible to generalize only children into categories because everyone is different, only child or not. I've found through personal experience that being an only child is quite difficult: not only do we not have any siblings to bond and hang out with, we also get a lot of shit from other people who stereotype us and place us into categories that don't quite capture who we are on a personal level. Here are five myths about only children that simple are not true:
1. Only Child Syndrome
While I realize that it is easy to look at only children and think they're selfish and don't share things, it's actually just because we don't have anyone to share things with. It may seem like we're all self centered, but we're actually not, we just don't have anyone to share things with because we are the only ones that our parents have and raised. So next time you tell somebody they have a "severe case of only child syndrome" think about how that person must feel at the end of the day when they don't have a sibling to come home to.
2. We're Spoiled
Honestly, I had my first full time job as soon as I turned 16. Since then I've been paying for a lot of my own things, especially clothes and things that I don't necessarily need. My parents never spoiled me, and a lot of only children say the same thing. We work just as hard as anybody else with even less credit than others get. Many children who have siblings are spoiled just like an only child can be, so it's not always just the only children who are to blame.
3. We're Dependent on Our Parents
Many of us are told that we cannot succeed without our parents constantly supporting us, especially once we move away from home. But this simply is not true. We are just as independent, if not more when we go off to college as any other person. We love to get away from our parents so we can finally get into the world and thrive on our own, instead of constantly having to listen to our parents. We enjoy this, it's our time to make our own decisions.
4. We're Lonely
I admit that sometimes this is true. There are definitely moments in my life where I've found that I'm lonely or wishing for a sibling. However, as only children we are taught at a very young age to play with ourselves and entertain ourselves. Those lessons don't just go away when we stop playing with toys. As we grow up we learn how to survive as only children and be independent so we can occupy ourselves without wanting a companion. Of course, we all have our days when we wish for that, but we are doing pretty well by ourselves.
5. Our Way or the Highway
We can be very flexible people, I promise. Just give us a chance to show that we can go along with somebody else's plan. As long as somebody else can make it.
6. We're Selfish
Everyone has their selfish moments, so what's any different than a selfish moment from an only child? Just because we don't have siblings doesn't mean that we specifically are selfish on our own. Everyone is selfish sometimes but not always, so give everyone some room to be selfish - only child or not.
So next time you want to put a label or stereotype on an only child because of one specific moment in time, think again. We're not so different from everyone else.
