Only child syndrome: it’s a term we have all come to know and understand. Many people have come to view this phrase as a one that describes people who grew up spoiled, babied by their parents and someone who is easily irritated if they are required to socialize more than once or twice a day. Whether or not this is entirely true is up for debate. As an only child myself, I’d like to set the record straight. Also, just to put this on the table – please do not ever tell me I am “suffering from only child syndrome.”
I grew up with parents who would have moved mountains to make sure I had a healthy and positive childhood. They taught me a lot about life itself – what a strong relationship looks like, how to handle what life throws at you and how to work for what you want. Unlike the typical “spoiled rotten” stereotype, my parents constantly reminded me of the decisions and actions I had to make in order to get where I wanted to in life. Nothing was “handed” to me. When they felt like I actually deserved something, they let me know. When they felt like I didn’t earn something, they weren’t shy about that either. I worked for my scholarship, worked for my grades and worked for my friendships. Being an only child has nothing to do with feeling entitled to something. Even back when I played basketball in grade school, my dad made me practice every day with him when he got home from work in order to remind me that as a teammate, I would have to just as hard as the other girls who played. Entitlement is a completely separate issue and has no specific correlation to growing up without siblings.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if I needed my space because I grew up as an only child, I would probably have enough money to actually live alone. If you know me at all, you know that I’ve lived with my best friends for the past two years and unfortunately for them, they can’t get rid of me. Alone time is necessary – yes. Again, this has nothing to do with your childhood. It’s healthy to get your space every now and then and de-stress. Sometimes being on your own is exactly what you need. Like I stressed before, this has nothing to do with the amount of siblings you have. There’s nothing worse than socializing with a group of people when someone decides to bring up the fact that someone is suffering from “only child syndrome” because they’re feeling moody and need their space. PSA: if you want to upset an only child, explain to them that you believe there is a direct correlation between the amount of children in their family and the amount of times they need to decompress (best of luck).
Nothing irks me more than hearing this phrase. So here it is – this is a nationwide request to put an end to this term. Please stop referring to our childhood as a syndrome so we can stop feeling “moody” and “antisocial” while our parents “excessively load our bank account”. You’re exhausting us.
