The Magic of Only Children | Teen Ink

The Magic of Only Children

September 17, 2016
By waliedali BRONZE, Karachi, Illinois
waliedali BRONZE, Karachi, Illinois
2 articles 2 photos 1 comment

People often think of an only child as a spoiled brat having a bossy or unpleasant attitude. I won’t deny this though, being an only child I was pampered to such an extent that I started to feel like a ruthless emperor ruling over a kingdom. Even the slightest things annoyed me. I became choosy, impolite and selfish however as time went on my bratty attitude started fading. Now, at the age of 17 I can say this without any doubt that I am much more disciplined than I was ever before. Only children are psychologically distinct from children with siblings
Having no siblings could be quite depressing at times as you have no one to talk to or share your sadness with. I’ve seen my cousin playing the blame game with his siblings when anything goes wrong in the house but the scenario is quite different in case of an only child. If your mom sees a broken vase, an empty cookie jar or pieces of broken glass then without hesitation hold you responsible and because you don’t have siblings you can’t blame anyone else unless there’s a ghost in the house but there’s a brighter side to this, having no siblings means that there’s no sibling rivalry and you’re free to do whatever you wish. Even the idea of sibling rivalry or sibling affection is absent. I’ve seen siblings fight over some of the most pointless topics, after witnessing that I used to ask myself am I cursed that I have no siblings or blessed.

 

When it comes to domestic chores the only child is overwhelmed by the amount of work he must do. A family with an only child has to hire workforce during stuff like house shifting, home repairs, car repairs etc unlike those with more than one child, they might not need an extra hand. My father used to call my cousins to help in our daily chores because of the lack of manpower.
 

Apart from all this an only child is a bit more creative, imaginative and innovative than a child who grew up with siblings. You can take the examples of Leonardo da Vinci who created the Mona Lisa masterpiece, Elvis Presley who used the magic of music to influence the world, Sir Issac Newton who used his imagination to figure out the most complex phenomena in Physics. All of these people grew up as only children. Only children have been found to be precocious, God gifted and more intelligent than those with siblings. Only children often feel lonely and to compensate it they form bonds with their imagination. This is one of the reasons why only children are so creative; their loneliness feeds their inner magical pixie. 


The parents of an only child invest all of their resources on the development of their child. After all the pampering and all the luxuries provided by their parents, an only child has a big responsibility on his shoulders as their parents have pinned all their hopes with that very child. This is stressful at times because if you fail then there won’t be any one after you who’ll succeed, in other words it’s much like a do or die situation. I know that because as an only child living in a very conservative society I have to carry this burden on my shoulders because I know that I don’t have a brother or sister who is likely to succeed after me if I fail. Parents of only children push their child to the limits so that they may succeed academically and socially. In majority of the cases the child does succeed in doing so mainly because with time he or she develops the tendency to perform better than children with siblings. You simply can’t blame the parents for pushing their child to the limits; our society is simply shaped that way. The good thing is that we (only children) do not face sibling jealousy, competition etc.


Even though this idea of an “only child” sounds charming there are many stereotypes present about only children which act as hurdles in their advancement. Not only because of the stereotypes but also because their habits they face problems in advancing For example: Everybody knows that because of the attention that is given to the child, the child becomes bratty and selfish, there’s more to that, the children are treated like kings and queens who belong within a palace, who only have the ability to give orders while sitting on their throne and when you suddenly place them in a real life situation they are bound to fail.
 


The author's comments:

I am the only child of my parents. Born in 1998, up till now I've spent 17 years living as the sole child of my parents. All of my friends, cousins, classmates etc have at least one sibling. People would become surprised if I would receal my self to be an only child, they would think of me like some foreigner who lives a very distinct lifestyle. This article has been created by me for the people who are curious about the lives of only children. I believe that even though there has been a lot of research done by psychologists in this matter, no one can truly explain an only child rather than a an only child itself. 


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