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To me, it makes a lot of sense. It's cheaper. You have more time for yourself. However, your child might have to take care of their aging parents.
Siblings don't always make a difference. Some people aren't close with their siblings and some don't even speak to them. Some people hated being an only child. However, I think that has to do with making friends. Did the parents make sure from the time they are very young that they interacted with other children?
A counterargument could be: Isn't it selfish to have kids that you can't afford? Isn't it selfish to have more kids that you can't spend time with?
I'm an only child and I love it. I have cousins and good friends to make up a family of my choosing.
Nothing selfish about choosing to have just one. My parents were well-off financially, but I don't think they had the EMOTIONAL resources to provide for another kid, frankly.
No more or less selfish than most any other choice regarding the number of children to have.
I only have one mostly for financial reasons and a few lifestyle reasons. I made that decision a few days after she was born and realized full well what I had just gotten myself into with parenting. Nearly 8 years later, I still have no interest in having another child. I like my life as it is now and don't want to take the risk that I might not get as lucky with the next child in terms of health and temperament.
No more or less selfish than most any other choice regarding the number of children to have.
I only have one mostly for financial reasons and a few lifestyle reasons. I made that decision a few days after she was born and realized full well what I had just gotten myself into with parenting. Nearly 8 years later, I still have no interest in having another child. I like my life as it is now and don't want to take the risk that I might not get as lucky with the next child in terms of health and temperament.
I'm thinking about having one child. Thanks for your input, it was helpful.
To me, it makes a lot of sense. It's cheaper. You have more time for yourself. However, your child might have to take care of their aging parents.
Siblings don't always make a difference. Some people aren't close with their siblings and some don't even speak to them. Some people hated being an only child. However, I think that has to do with making friends. Did the parents make sure from the time they are very young that they interacted with other children?
A counterargument could be: Isn't it selfish to have kids that you can't afford? Isn't it selfish to have more kids that you can't spend time with?
Selfish from whose perspective?
If thinking from overall society's perspective (who only cares about survival and for people to have as many children as possible), then it's selfish.
If you're thinking from perspective of individual people who care about quality of life rather than pure survival and quantity, then it's not selfish.
I'm putting aside the issue of whether working class Americans should really be adding to the excess of labor in the future (I'd say NO), and looking only at the personal aspects of the issue. From my own experience as an only child, I see advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
--Less financial problems when growing up (compared to large families in the same socioeconomic class); possibly more help getting established as adults.
--Often, only children are more at ease with adults.
--No chance of the family discord over inheritance issues.
--Like eldest children, only children tend to be more successful in their careers.
Disadvantages:
--The only child must learn how to get along with others in a very public setting, which possibly means destructive social stigma if the same small school group continues from the earliest years through high school.
--The potential for loneliness and isolation, particularly if there are no other children in the neighborhood and the parents don't actively pursue socialization for the child.
--The unstable social triangle situation: often two members will find themselves allied against the third (whether both parents against the child, or one parent and child against the other parent).
--If the only child grows up without other children around, they may never feel comfortable with children and may choose not to have any themselves. If the only child marries someone who wants children, marital discord will be severe.
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