I'd be lying if I said that growing up as an only child didn't have its advantages and disadvantages. Hell, I couldn't really imagine how my life would've turned out if I did have a sibling. All I know is that the unconditional love I received as an only child was real, but the loneliness as a single child was also, very real. But, aside from being the only child in the family, I learned the advantages and disadvantages of being an only child with a single parent as well.
The advantages of being an only child may not be as clear as the disadvantages but they're definitely easy to recognize. For instance, as an only child, I received all the attention. I didn't have to worry about another bratty sibling taking all the attention off of me and bringing it directly upon themselves. It was natural; all the attention was on me. Now, I'm not saying I was always the center of attention, but being the only child in the family really gave a reason to always be paid attention to. There was never competition between me and another sibling, and there never will be.
As an only child, relying on myself for fun when I was younger has helped me become independent. I don't necessarily need to rely on someone else to do something. Growing up, I had to make decisions on my own. I didn't have the help of siblings to make those unimportant kid decisions. I either decided it by myself or I didn't, without anyone else's' approval. Since I didn't have to rely on anyone but myself for "playtime," I definitely matured a lot faster than people my age. Being around adults my whole life allowed me to think about things in different ways. For instance, I learned right from wrong fairly early in my childhood. I knew what I could and couldn't do, while little kids are easily persuaded by other children to do things they typically wouldn't do by themselves.
The disadvantages of being an only child can be pretty obvious. For one, you don't have that extra child laying around your house that you can play with all the time. You don't have that one person who you can be sneaky with or are able to blame something on your sibling. Loneliness is at an all time high when you're an only child. If your parents are at work, you're still too young to drive, and your friends parents are all at work too, it sucks. I had to learn how to occupy myself all day. Plus, now that I'm older, I don't really have that one person who I can talk to about anything.
The responsibility of being an only child is a big disadvantage as well. You have to always take responsibility for stupid things that you know you shouldn't have done, but you did anyways. When you have siblings, the blame can always be pointed to them. The pressure to be perfect is so real. Since you're your mother's only child, you feel like you need to perfect every little thing you do. Even though they don't expect it from you all the time, you feel it in your heart that it is necessary to always give 100 percent.
Overall, being an only child definitely had its pros and cons, but in the long run you learn to be a stronger, more independent child, just at a younger age than most. Of course, I got lonely, but I managed, didn't I?
