Come celebrate your ONLY CHILD

[MarthasGinYard]

Apparently

They can be....

'Rude'

'Lack awareness'

'Spoilt'

'Unable to share'

'Lack manners'

'Lack stimulation'

'Socially reclusive'

And funniest of all they lead some kind of Mr Bean existence, sitting on a crate eating supper alone every night crying and neglected 😉

In reality my DC in fucking awesome in every way shape and form....

What about yours?

@Elderflower14 - and he's an absolute credit to you.

My DS is brilliant, he is kind, funny , mature, honest, and good at sharing, polite , has a strong sense of injustice and has no problem is speaking up about it , has good solid friends, who are good kids too. . He is a teenager now, so being a wee bit difficult, but he is still our star.

My daughter is 3 and she is:
Funny
Crazy
Caring
Kind
Confident
Cuddly
My whole world 😍

She's also happy being an only, so far at least

@iklboo THANKYOU ♥

Forgot polite, independent, sociable

Argh that thread made me so mad OP. Only children are like children with siblings, ie, children. That's it.

I hate the way some people attribute any characteristics only children have to the fact that they are "onlies". Ugh. Such ignorance.

This is a lovely thread OP, thank you for starting it! I'm guessing you read the one recently which descended into posters basically implying we have made our kids sad and lonely because we'd stopped at one?!

Some gorgeous reasons why One Rocks on here!

I home educate my only. Despite this he has lovely friends and can start a game that gathers all the kids in the park or soft play whatever their age.

Yes, I have an only DS, not by choice, but he’s bloody awesome. Best sense of humour ever, fab company, kind and caring.

He’s had a really tough couple of years. If one more person blames his behaviour on being an only I might lose the plot. Yes, nothing to do with being relentlessly and sustainedly bullied for the first two years of school, then, mainly due to his speech delay, which was hard enough in itself. I can’t tell you how proud I am of how he has come through with shining colours and has become such a fabulous human being.

It's my onlies birthday tomorrow so I have been thinking about how lovely she is!

If I'm honest we do buy her the best we can (we are both from large families and had to make do, which was fine and we know we benefited from having siblings) and she does get to go on nice holidays and things but I think that is compensation in a way for not always having company and at times having to listen to boring conversations between us (politics, work etc) but she rarely asks for anything. When I started paying her an allowance when she started secondary school she mostly used it to buy her friends birthday presents.

She's all the funny and kind things that make us proud but also a lot of friends with two or more kids comment on how inclusive she is to younger kids. I think because she does have the jealousy aspect she just values them for who they are. She's often baffled when people are mean in school - not just to her but to other people too.

Coming from a big family with lots of siblings on both sides means in some ways she gets the best of both worlds - cousins both older and younger than her so family gatherings are fun, but then she comes home and enjoys her own company too.

There are things that aren't great about being an only, but I can say there are things that aren't great about being the eldest of 5 and I'm sure my siblings would say the same about their family positions too.

I haven't read the other thread but FFS life's too short to criticise all the time! I never planned an only, so I've just made the most of it and she's a happy kid!

Oh sorry I was so busy ranting I forgot to respond to the thread title

I get to spend loads of quality time with my DS, he gets loads of our attention, we're able to do the things he likes to do without having to consider a sibling. He's lovely and generous, polite and kind.

Also - and importantly for our family set-up - it means that we're able (financially) to visit close family living in another country more often than we would if we had more than one.

My DD is frigging amazing... she's 3... yesterday at the theatre she kept feeding me bits of twirl rather then just scoffing the whole lot to herself and this evening she thanked me for her dinner.... nearly made we cry as my DH doesn't even do that most of the time!

So no! She isn't selfish or impolite

I love me one and only DD!

I have an older brother and we are not close in the slightest, he is selfish, rude, inconsiderate of others, a bully and made my childhood pretty miserable !!

I didn't open the other thread...

Mine is 16 and she is

Delightful
Funny
Kind
Generous
Well liked by peers
Bizarrely well liked by teachers
Anxious
Smart
Sensitive
Cheeky
Messy
Tad lazy as far as housework stuff goes
Sad and emotionally bruised sometimes
Awesome
Great company

pretty much like most other 16 year olds I would imagine but I'm very very proud of her, love her ferociously, enjoy spending time with her, can't imagine that she could possibly be leaving home in two years but will be glad of less crockery to discover located around the house

My “only” is fantastic. I can’t believe the shite that some people on here project about children with no siblings. It says so much more about them and their negative upbringings and misconceptions than it does about my DD. We’ve also committed the other sin, she was formula fed. She is ridiculously healthy, happy, intelligent and thriving in all aspects of her life, I imagine it secretly infuriates those people who like to cast their pity on the unfortunate only and formula fed kids 😂

I think that other thread brought out some very interesting perceptions.... and those who were of the belief that everyone would be better off with siblings were either naive, disingenuous, or just plain lucky to know more siblings that get on wonderfully (as kids or adults) than I do.

My DC is

-kind, caring and empathetic
-no problems sharing (we always share as a family anyway- doesn’t everyone???)
-loves alone time as her personality is like mine and on introverted side but has plenty of friends and has a busy life full of activities
-compromises with the best of them.
-She is told no very often. She does not get everything she wants just like most families who live on a limited budget.
-and gets nagged just like any other kid to tidy her room and do her chores helping out the household.

My DD is a Veruca Salt reincarnate (as I've said before), she's spoilt with a living room full of toys, she's girly and loves pink. She also is one of the most brightest, emphatic, kindest, cheeky, and yet polite children I have come across. Shes autistic and is rapidly overcoming speech delay. She always signs 'thank you' and 'your welcome'. Always says 'Good morning/afternoon' to every teacher/friend we see or offers a huge hug. Her intelligence knocks my socks off; her problem solving skills are next level. And shes beautiful too!

Yes Myrtle ...

And mine also has anxious moments, some self doubt and has had to learn resilience because plenty of other kids find it fun to be bullies. My DC is just the same as me and I had siblings so it is not a issue of her being an only.

I'm an only child as is my DS. He is in Year 11 and I have never heard anything bad from any teacher in parents evening - I hear about how well mannered, hard working, intelligent and delightful he is.

He is fabulous. And it's all down to me as an only child and single parent.

Thanks op - this has really cheered me up after reading that shitty thread earlier.

I am also the proud parent of a self-absorbed, asocial, maladjusted weirdo according to a surprisingly large chunk of society. Except of course she’s not - she’s kind, bright, funny, sociable (far more so than me actually, and I’m one of 4) and an absolute delight to be around.

I hid that thread too. Couldn't bear another load of shite being spouted form by people with no clue.

I'm an only child and I think I'm pretty great! My DS is currently an only and likely to stay that way. It's not entirely by choice but I know he's going to be a super human being! 😊

I always said when dd wAs born. I wasn’t having any more. People used to say I’d change my mind, but I knew I wouldn’t and have never looked back. It’s a doddle with the one. She’s my best friend. I must have done something right to get a prize like her.

I bet the ones who think it’s wrong to have only one child (through choice) are probably the same ones who would say. If you cant feed them don’t breed them..
People can’t have it both ways.

Mine is my most favourite person ever. She is kind, considerate, generous, brave, independent, individual and the best company ever, she's a total joy.

DD 5 (currently an only child) is:

• exceptionally imaginative
• thoughtful and caring towards other children
• well behaved and polite
• able to adapt quickly to new settings and situations and takes change in her stride
• sociable and makes friends easily
• seems happy

I'm really proud of her. She's a nice kid.

Her farther is also an only child and I've never thought anything negative about that.

My only is a fantastic person. She's 9 and honestly one of my favourite people in the world.

She's smart, funny, intelligent, has impeccable manners, is incredibly thoughtful, sociable and independent.

Of course she can be a little monster, what kid can't be?! But when I am told that she is the one comforting and including the child in her class who has autism, she is looking after the new child in school and helping them, she's sending someone to find an adult when someone hurts themselves in the playground while she comforts them and takes care of them; then I am the proudest mummy in the school!

Yes she gets more than her friends with siblings, nicer holidays, trips to the theatre and cinema etc but that's because we only have one child to pay for so can afford to do more. It makes me cross that people are surprised she's an only child because she's so caring. It's quite insulting actually, the insinuation that I'm not capable of raising a good person because I couldn't have a second.

I read the other thread. The part about pitying only children because 'GASP' they might have to eat their dinner alone made me

My 5 year old is -
Confident
Caring
Empathic
Fun loving
Happy
More than happy to share

Having one was a definite choice and from what we've experienced so far, is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I have made some poor impulsive choices over the years, thank god that wasn't another one!

Last year I nearly caved and had another due to social pressures. I'm so glad I didn't fall into that trap.