Only Children

[Cindiloohoo]

I wished I was an only child. I'm the middle. I was ignored. every time I asked for anything it was always "you're too old for that" or "you're too young for that" so I basically never got anything..lol. My younger sister was in girls scouts and spoiled, older brother was in C.A.P. and got to go on trips and stuff. I got to go to church camp and stay in the younger girls cabin...to keep an eye on my tag-along sister! I also had to share a room with her until I was 15, got to cook lunch for the both of them all summer, and got to get in trouble for kicking the snot out of the both of them when they ganged up on me. My brother tried to throw me in a bonfire, and my sister chewed the fingers off all my brand new Barbie dolls one Christmas...guess who got in trouble...But, I'm not bitter..

TRUST ME YOU DO NOT WANT SIBLINGS!!!!!!!! You are BLESSED to be an only child!!

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

I was raised as an only even though I have a 1/2 sister and 1/2 brother. When I was little I used to hear adults say "Oh, she's an only child" and my little ears thought they were saying 'lonely' instead of 'only'. I could never understand who they were
talking about- I didn't feel the least bit lonely. I'm grateful to have been an only. I think being an only gave me a chance to get to know and be comfortable with the older generations of my family. When I see some of my peers who don't have the patience
with or respect for their elders it makes me sad and I'm glad I was raised in a way that taught me to value those older generations. I never felt bored or lonely and if I wanted to experience the sibling thing I could go to friends' houses and watch the squabbles
and petty fights and then go home. I think being an only has encouraged me to go out into the world and find my own chosen brothers and sisters to be close to and they and their friendships have been a lovely blessing. My son is an only (more by nature than
by my choice) and I hope that I can encourage him to value and see the good things that come come from being an only child. I'm glad I can give him my full and undivided attention and care and love and I just can't imagine my little wise guy wanting to share the
spotlight with anyone else even if I could have another (the little ham!) lol!

 

[kagedgoddess]

i can tell you my eldest dd MISSES being an only. she was 6 when ds was born, so she is aware hw things changed. at her dads she is still an only, he s never remarried or even had a long term gf And she is the only grandbaby, so they Spoil her. she comes here and feels i love ds more so she incessantly picks at him. now i have a 1yo dd who eldest ignores and another on the way. ds gets upset cuz i am *always* busy with the little one.
dh is an only, he liked it. i am the eldest of 3. i hated it. i Enjoyed moving out on my own... but i get lonely easy. i still dont get on well with my siblings. they think i am somehow getting things in my life handed to me. (i'm not. we work hard for good credit and extra $)

And as for the #3 &4 vbeing after thoughts, i can relate to that too.... my kids are not Afterthoughts, but things like baby books loose their appeal when youve gotta keep up with so many. i didnt buy all the junk i did with my first, and since $ gets tighter the last in line get less. example eldest dd got barbie grand motel, $120, for her 2nd xmas amongst Many Many Many other things. ..... youngest dd for xmas this year got a baby doll with a bed($20) and blocks ($10) and thats it. when dd was 3, i took her to disney, i dont know if i ll ever be able to do that again now. some times i feel bad i had so many, like i m taking away from them somehow. but, i love all my kids and wont trade them for anything. i just hope they learn that Family is more important than Things

 

[silkydragon]

love being an only child i got all the games and stuff i wanted not spoiled just could afford it i have occasionly wanted a sibling becouse i live in the middle of nowhere and it would have been fun to have some1 to play games and stuff with but for the most part i liked it

 

[MandyH]

I grew up with 2 half sisters (one in the home) a step brother and a step sister, and more cousins than the law allows and we all had such a happy childhood. Never a dull moment or nobody to play with. Now that I'm grown and can only have one child I feel very sorry for her. We live in the boonies and all she has is old people to play with. She told me the other day that I was her best friend because I was the only one she had to play with and it broke my heart. My husband was an only and he remembers never having anyone to play his games with him that Santa brought, and nobody to play ball with and such. I hate for DD (and us) that we can't have anymore kids, that's something that really bothers me and I always wonder how it will affect her life not having a partner in crime growing up.

 

[RM44]

I'm the oldest of 4 and had a BLAST growing up. No matter where we lived or where we were, we had a "gang" and it was never lonely. When I grew up I wanted 4 kids b/c I had such great memories of being from a family of 4. I married a man who was the oldest of 7. We have 4 kids and each one is a treasure. We loved and planned for having 4 kids and every single one of them is different and special. I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus I know that I will have lots of grandkids and lots of attention when I get old.

 

[fordmommy]

I was an only child until 7th grade. Then my mom married a guy who had been mariied 2x before. First marriage he had a son, who he hardly ever saw, even today. Then his second marriage the woman alreally had a 5 month old daughter and then they had another girl less than a year later. The boy 5 years older than me, the first girl is 3 years younger than me and the 3rd 4 years younger. I was pretty close to the youngest girl until her second marriage to a man who abused her kids. I actually testified against him in court. We have not been close since.

Never was too close to the other 2.

I found out when I was 29 years old, I have a half sister on my dad's side. I've only talked to her about 5x. I live in Wisconsin and she lives in Oregon.

I always wanted other siblings. I've also always had some kinda social issues. I have always had more guy friends than girl friends. I am very outgoing. I feel that I am a leader and sometimes talk too much.

I would never wish anyone to be an only child. Everyone should have someone who loves them unconditionally. Who understands them. I don't even have that from my parents.

 

[babylady4]

MandyH could you possibly foster or adopt?

I am the middle of 3, the he// raiser and the tomboy. Opinionated and loudmouthed, and ready to do whatever the boys can do. My brother and I refer to ourselves as the Wonder Twins. My sister and I butt heads but that is ok, we have always been that way(stubborn and Irish....). I cannot imagine not having them in my life or my kids lives. They have such different memories and stories about growing up that they can tell my kids. Who else would I have gone fishing with or played dolls with? I lived in a small town with few kids so we played together. We also managed (gasp!) to learn how to entertain ourselves; either together or by ourselves.

Only children are missing out, and so will their own children. Unless they marry somebody with siblings there will be no cousins for the kids to get to know and play with. My mom was the first of 2; since she divorced my dad and we have no idea about relatives on his side we only had my one Uncle to visit. When you grow up in an area where almost everyone is related and family reunions need to be held at the local hall due to the vast size of the family, you stick out like a sore thumb when you have no relatives......

One other point; my kids have friends who are singletons and they seem to live over here at my house all the time. They interact with ALL my kids and are treated like one of the group. I think they miss being around other kids and having all of the family 'noise' at their own houses.

Family is important. Kids don't need 'things', they need people who love them. As long as they have a stable home to come home to they are not missing out or suffering in any way. They don't need ipods, playstations, trips to Disney.... all they want is to spend time with their parents and siblings.