Why There Are More Benefits to Having Only One Child As Opposed to Two or More Children

I did not mean for this to be a hub but here we go. There are more benefits having only one child. Only children have total individualized attention from their parents which helps them to develop faster than children with siblings. Only children do not have to compete with siblings for your attention. Only children are freer to develop into their own personas. They are not locked into rigid familial roles like children with siblings are e.g. "the smart one", "the pretty one", "the athletic one", " the slow one", and/or " the artistic one". These roles and names often following children into adult life. When you have more than one child, there is an increased chance that there will be sibling rivalry.

In multichild families, there is so much drama with siblings outdoing each other and vying for the attention of their parents. In multichild families, the issue of sibling rivalry ranges from verbal to physical. The more siblings in a family, the increased likelihood that there will be sibling rivalry and favoritism. Favoritism is a common place in multichild families with some children getting positive attention while other children either get negative attention or are ignored altogether.

Only children are not subjected to the abovementioned drama but are appreciated for their uniqueness. Furthermore, only children have the highest academic and intellectual achievement of all the birth orders because of the increased ratio of adults to children in the familial environment. In only child households, parents are the main teachers and as every intelligent person knows, adults have more experience, knowledge, and expertise than a mere sibling who is a child himself. A sibling cannot teach another child much-let us get real!

Sociological studies show that the increase in the number of siblings correlate with the decreased intellectual environment in the home. Children with siblings are often less advanced than only children in terms of academics and intellectual achievement. Also only children are some of the highest achievers in the career arena.

Only children are high earners and have very accomplished careers. Only children are also very individualistic, independent, and have a very sense of self which children with siblings do not have. Although oldest children have a lot in common with only children as they are both alpha, firstborn birth orders, oldest children are often overburdened with caring for their younger siblings. Studies show that oldest children have the most stressful childhoods and adolescence as they are expected to be adults much faster than their younger siblings.

Oldest children especially in large to very large families often raise their younger siblings and do not have a normal childhood and adolescence in the strictest sense of the world. In other words, sibliinghood adversely affects oldest children the most while it benefits only later middle and youngest children. There is nothing wrong indeed with having just one child. Studies show that only children are high achievers, more mature, and are more independent and self-reliant than those with siblings.

Only children are economically and financially advantaged and they are likely to attend college and go on to postgraduate studies. The concept of having siblings to "give" your child someone to play with is archaic and atavistic. Giving your child a sibling would only retard his/her growth. Older children need children their own age and/or older to interact with, not younger children. That idea is totally ludricrous. A better suggestion for your child is to arrange playdates with same aged peers and to have your child participate in an intellectual and cultural activities where she/he can meet children from varied cultural backgrounds. She/he is never too young to participate in educational and cultural activities which is fun and enlightening.