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It seems like most people I have met who only had one child didn't do it by choice. My aunt was told that after she had her first that she wouldn't physically be able to have anymore or it could kill her. One of my friends is an only child. He seems quite bitter that his parents only had him and didnt have any other kids because it puts pressure on him to have grandchildren plus he is gay so he feels guilty about that. I told him that his parents may not have deliberately chose to only have him .....maybe his mom couldn't get pregnant again. It is not always easy to get pregnant. Did you deliberately choose just to have one child or were you just not physically able to have more and thats why you only had one? I have rarely met anyone who said they only want one child unless they are past their 40s once they had the first and only child. Plus it seems like it is really tough for someone to be an only child . I don't know too many only children who enjoy it.
My sister only has one and that's all she decided she wanted. When she was pregnant she was planning on her second and after having my nephew and all that comes with raising a child decided to stop. Her husband was ok with that.
It seems like most people I have met who only had one child didn't do it by choice. My aunt was told that after she had her first that she wouldn't physically be able to have anymore or it could kill her. One of my friends is an only child. He seems quite bitter that his parents only had him and didnt have any other kids because it puts pressure on him to have grandchildren plus he is gay so he feels guilty about that. I told him that his parents may not have deliberately chose to only have him .....maybe his mom couldn't get pregnant again. It is not always easy to get pregnant. Did you deliberately choose just to have one child or were you just not physically able to have more and thats why you only had one? I have rarely met anyone who said they only want one child unless they are past their 40s once they had the first and only child. Plus it seems like it is really tough for someone to be an only child . I don't know too many only children who enjoy it.
I am an Only Child by choice. I'm 67. When you are very young, yes, we want a sibling to "play with". However, I would say once you reach your pre-teens you start to understand the benefits of being an Only. Yes, there are. You also tend to grow up and mature faster since you are constantly around adult family members. An Only has a far easier time of communicating with adults at much younger ages. It is not as frightening going out in the adult world since you have always been in an adult world.
Just because a child has siblings does not mean that they will be friends, whether in childhood or adulthood. My adult daughters could probably write a dissertation on that theme. Opposites do not always attract. lol
My brother has just one child; she was born when he and his wife were in their mid/late-20s. They have decided one child is enough for them. They happen to be more career oriented than family oriented, imho. Some only children are happy; others feel cheated by being an only. Some are happy in big families with loads of siblings; others hated growing up with siblings and wish they were an only child.
My brother has only one child, because once he and his (late) wife had him, they realized that he was the recipient of some previously unknown genetic issues. So they decided to stop after that.
As an adoptive parent (of two kids), I have a number of other adoptive families in my circle. Several of them chose to only "get" only one child, simply because the outrageous expense and mind-numbing difficulty of the adoption process precluded them from doing more than that.
I am an Only Child by choice. I'm 67. When you are very young, yes, we want a sibling to "play with". However, I would say once you reach your pre-teens you start to understand the benefits of being an Only. Yes, there are. You also tend to grow up and mature faster since you are constantly around adult family members. An Only has a far easier time of communicating with adults at much younger ages. It is not as frightening going out in the adult world since you have always been in an adult world.
Just because a child has siblings does not mean that they will be friends, whether in childhood or adulthood. My adult daughters could probably write a dissertation on that theme. Opposites do not always attract. lol
This is good to know, since I have one child. You are right about siblings too, as I have a brother and I hardly see him since he married his very controlling wife.
my friend since grade school always wanted a child (one child) ---- she had her girl & made sure she had no more. She made that plan when she was a child herself, kept to it, and has no regrets (note: she had 2 siblings)
My son and DIL have one, and say they will not have another. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum all during the pregnancy,and the memory is still fresh three years later.
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