If you are an only child…

[Organictangerine]

Would you have preferred a sibling(s)?

No agenda here
I have an only myself at the moment
I have lots of siblings
Just interested to know the experiences of others

I'd have liked one to share thé stress of a toxic mother. But, they would've probably been thé golden child' which would've made life shittier.

@FrodisCapering apart from the family feud bit, I could have written that myself. Exactly the same, two children, first birth majorly traumatic but still keen to go for a second. Also mid thirties now so that will be it but would have considered more possibly.

Sorry to say, but I'm in the hate it club, despite having a lot of cousins that are a similar age to me. Holidays were always boring (unless we stayed in an all inclusive package holiday type thing, but even then it was hard sometimes to find people to play with) and now as an adult everything falls on me. Neither of my parents are particularly well in themselves and I live 3+ hours away... the guilt I've been made to feel as a result of moving away (nearly 15 years ago!) still continues and I genuinely don't know what I'll do when their health starts to deteriorate. That said, I understand why they only had one... they couldn't afford another child, and they'd suffered losses before having me. The upside is that I think I put a lot more effort into friendships when growing up and still have friends from my childhood that I'm very close to... I swear being an only child has given me that.

@MrsTrue your parents perhaps didn't book the correct types of holidays. It's only me and DS that travel and we have been doing it solo since 18months. If you book places with a waterpark there's always kids to play with in fact it's fascinating that kids just mingle so easily!

I've noticed that a lot of only children who dislike it, have PARENTS that were the problem. My mum never makes me feel guilty for having my own life, or smothered me. I don't think it's being an only that's the issue, it's how your parents deal with it.

I honestly think it can be just as lonely having a sibling. I have one older brother, we're not close - no real drama or reason, we're just very different people. All our contact comes through our Mum, which weirdly means we have no reason to speak directly. I don't really feel like I've benefitted from the relationship. Now that parents are getting older I don't feel like he will in anyway share the load, even though he lives much closer!

A thousand times this. I understand how it would be lonely at times or how someone would prefer to have a sibling but if you were "utterly miserable" or desperately lonely throughout your childhood then I'd hazard then there were worse things going on then lack of sibling.

Yes I would have liked a sibling

To share the load of my hideous narcissistic mother
It's hard being the only one

@Overthewine what were the age gaps?