Can you imagine a life where it’s just you and your parents? The house is empty, and you come home by yourself to school each day. That’s some people’s everyday life, and like everything, there are pros and cons.

To begin, let’s start with the pros of being an only child. One of the biggest pros is that you don’t have to compete with siblings, since you don’t have any. You get to be your parent’s favorite kid, and I bet some people with siblings can feel left out. This is proven because according to MedicineNet , “No sibling rivalry. Only children can’t be compared to other siblings.” I think that is a nice feeling to have, and I bet people who are only children, enjoy that feeling.

Before we move on to the next one, there is a question to be asked though. What is one thing that parents want their kids to become? One simple answer is independence, and parents feel good when they have that characteristic. Think about waking up, and getting all the chores in the house done, then being able to relax after that. This again is proven because according to MedicineNet again, “Independence. Your child may grow to be more independent compared to children who come from a larger family. Onlies learn to depend on themselves at an earlier age.” So, as you can see, they have a great advantage.

  (Emily Gaudet working on her article independently)

There is one more pro, because even though being an only child is great, there are also some disadvantages. The last pro is privileges, and that’s definitely one that a lot of kids look forward to when they’re older. For example, when the holidays come around, they get to take part in all of them. They also get to take part in lots of other activities with their parents. According to Luci Adams,  “Able to do more activities because my parents don’t have to worry about other kids.”

This is also proven because according to MedicineNet, “Privileges. Kids in one-child families are almost always included in their parent’s activities. Holidays often center around them.” 

All in all the pros are pretty great, but just like most things, cons are also part of the package. So let’s dive into that as well.

One major con is people who are an only child can struggle with social skills. This lack of social skills is not surprising in an only child since they miss out on some time to practice it with people around their age. Some could say that the feeling can also be lonely, because according to Abby Smith, “It can feel a little lonely.” Even though they interact with their parents, they are interacting with adults, which is helpful, but their parents aren’t their age. This is proven because according to kiindred, “Only children also struggle with concepts such as sharing and conflict resolution.”

We all know that parents feel great when their kids get good grades, and reach many other amazing milestones, but even though the kid loves the attention, it creates more pressure for them to be better. At some point in everyone’s life, having these awesome achievements feels great, but that also means you’re expected to get more awards and achievements. Because when the pressure builds, it can either make or break the kid. This again proven by kindred, “increased pressure and high expectations, which can get overwhelming for kids.”

And it’s not just kids who feel like there are certain expectations that are set for them at a young age, or feel a little alone sometimes. Teachers who are an only child can also have these experiences from a young age, so they can relate as well. According to the social studies teacher Erin Bergin, “Being an only child may look good from the outside, but it can be daunting. Feelings of being isolated or pressured to succeed are amplified by families.”

So as you can see, teachers are a prime example of adults who also have a very interesting experience as an only child.

The last con is not being able to get as much support from the people in their everyday lives. Other than extended family and parents, they can’t talk to anybody about how their day went in school, or something embarrassing they did at a play. Or even challenges they faced at any point in their lives. And for kids, there’s always someone that they want to talk to other than their friends, partly because kids with siblings are able to feel better, or even laugh about their experience afterwards. But an only child doesn’t have that same privilege. Which is why when they want to talk to someone their own age, they usually end up talking to their cousins, but even then, their cousin might live far away from them. This is proven because according to kindred, “without the companionship of a sibling, children and adults, may need to seek support from friends and extended family when faced with challenges.”

So all in all being an only child is an interesting experience, and one that people that are an only child can agree with. After asking a few of them, the answers that real jumped out at me was that is can be lonely, but you get to do more activities.