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One-child families

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Do I or Don’t I

9 replies

Lady1066 · 28/07/2022 08:25

Hi all,
I’m writing this because I seem to be going back and forth in my mind about a second child. I am an only child and have a close relationship with my parents, I adore my DD (18 months) and we are the best of friends and she is absolutely perfect. A really smiley child, so happy all the time, I couldn’t ask for more. My dh is 1/6 and really wants a second, he says that it will be great for my dd, they’ll be best friends etc and whilst everyone keeps telling me ‘it’s a great idea, what are you worried about,’ I’m just really on the fence and could do with some genuinely unbiased advice.

These are my doubts:


  1. I will not be as close with my dd as I am now

  2. dd will lose her lovely personality because she’s not getting all my love and attention

  3. 2 children won’t get on

  4. i won’t be her favourite person anymore, I will just be ‘mum’

  5. a second child might be unhappy because they also don’t get as much attention

  6. how will I make absolutely sure everyone gets attention and feel loved

  7. what if it changes our dynamic for the worse??

  8. what if I prefer new child to dd? That would be awful

  9. Not enough time for each child?

  10. dd is so lovely, how great would it be to meet another like her

  11. dd will have a play mate and someone that has her back which I didn’t have (I was terribly bullied)

  12. when we (dh and myself) die, she will have someone to share the memories with


please understand that I’m a pretty anxious person and a champion worrier, I’m not great with change but when I was pregnant I just loved her immediately.

I wouldn’t want a big age gap as I see others who get on best with their siblings when it’s a smaller gap? Which is why I have all these questions etc

can anyone offer some advice?

Thanks

OP posts:
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Zonder · 28/07/2022 08:35

Re your doubts:
1 you can be really close to both. You will still have time with her
2 she will learn lots of lovely things which will be good for her personality eg sharing, thinking of others
3 you can help them learn to get on
4 you will at times not be her favourite person anyway as she grows up. That's normal.
5 the second child won't know they get less attention than child 1 did. And they will get attention from each other
6 I think you're overthinking attention. Sharing attention can help make children more rounded and stop them being really self centred. You can show lots of love to both
7 you can impact on how it affects the dynamic. You can make it a very positive situation
8 you will have two favourite children
9 some of your time will go on them together

Pros:
1 absolutely, although chances are they will be lovely in very different ways
2 this has been my experience
3 as an only child dealing with elderly parents I really wish I had a sibling even if they couldn't do as much as me.

Lady1066 · 28/07/2022 08:48

@Zonder thank you so much for replying. Did you have doubts yourself at first?

OP posts:
Sandysandwich · 28/07/2022 09:25

I had similar worries after I had my son, thought I couldn't possibly love anyone else as much as him and another child would ruin what we had.
Turns out that the love is doubled not halved. I love them both so much.
And we still have our dynamic as a pair, my son still loves walks in the woods with me and his dad, he also loves playing with his sister in those woods.
He just gets more love as his sister adores him and he gets to have new roles too, he gets to be the big boy and show her new things, he taught her to play ball and he likes showing her how to climb on play equipment.
He loves making her laugh and his face lights up when she does and its beautiful.
I still have time just for him, and time just for her, and they also get to have time together and time as a whole family. Its lovely.

Lady1066 · 28/07/2022 09:34

@Sandysandwich That sounds so cute. Did he adapt quite well to when your little girl was born? I’m concerned dd will be jealous

OP posts:
Zonder · 28/07/2022 09:45

@Lady1066 to be honest I didn't have doubts because being an only child wasn't a totally positive experience for me and I knew I always wanted to have more than one, even if they don't end up really close. I've always been very glad, especially when they used to play together on holiday when they were little. Or even as teens hearing them discussing problems at school etc

I have a totally different relationship with each and I love that.

Anothernamechangeplease · 28/07/2022 10:14

I came at this from the other side. Grew up with a sibling, always thought I would have two children. But nature had other plans...I miscarried dd's only sibling and never managed to have another one. That was difficult to come to terms with at first, but now I wouldn't have it any other way.

There are pros and cons, of course. But I think having one is amazing. To answer your specific points:

I will not be as close with my dd as I am now
I think this is almost certainly true in most cases, though others probably won't want to acknowledge it. It's certainly true of the families I know with only children. I do think the quality of the relationship that only children have with their parents tends to be quite different. There can be much more of an "us and them" thing in families with more than one child - more of a separation between the adults and the kids. 17yo DD always says that she's much closer to me than any of her friends are to their parents, and the only one who has a similarly close relationship is another only child. Of course, there are no guarantees though - only children can be distant from their parents too.

dd will lose her lovely personality because she’s not getting all my love and attention
I don't think her personality would change much, but sibling rivalry probably would come into play in one way or another, even if they got on really well. I have spent my whole life trying to learn not to compare myself to my sister, and I still haven't quite cracked it yet! I still feel unbelievably upset if it is my perception that my DM is favouring my dsis in any way, even though she has always tried to be ultra fair. My DF has always favoured me, and I know that has been hard for my dsis.

2 children won’t get on
They might get on like a house on fire and immensely enrich each others lives, or they might hate each other and make each other really miserable. You won't be able to control that either way. Most siblings are somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. I love my dsis - we played together a lot when we were kids and we get on pretty well as adults now, but she drives me crazy like nobody else! We don't live near and I don't see her much, so mostly her impact on my life is pretty neutral.

i won’t be her favourite person anymore, I will just be ‘mum’
You might still be her favourite person for a while, but that will change as she gets older in any case.

a second child might be unhappy because they also don’t get as much attention
I was the second child. I wasn't unhappy with the amount of attention I got, as it was all I knew. I definitely grew up in the shadow of my very successful sister though. Whatever I achieved - and I achieved quite a lot - never felt like much because she had already done it before me.

how will I make absolutely sure everyone gets attention and feel loved
You will be able to ensure that everyone feels loved. I don't know how, but it's definitely possible. It is a fact that each of your children will get less of your attention. Some will say that doesn't matter because they gain more from having each other. Personally, I think it does impact on their confidence and self esteem. Most of the only children I know are exceptionally emotionally secure. But of course, that's just anecdotal and there will be plenty who aren't.

what if it changes our dynamic for the worse??
The dynamic between you and your child will keep changing anyway. It's never static. But I guess it's worth thinking about the potential impact on your family if your second child had a disability or significant health needs etc. That would have a huge impact on your first dc's life.

what if I prefer new child to dd?That would be awful
Unlikely, I reckon. Love isn't finite and you would find enough for both dc.

Not enough time for each child?
Depends how much time is "enough". You'd have less time for each child, yes. And probably less time for yourself and your career. It's a question of whether you think that time and attention is important or whether having a second dc is more important. Another point to keep in mind is that there is less money as well if you have more than one dc. I love being able to afford all of the opportunities that we're able to give our dd.

dd is so lovely, how great would it be to meet another like her
Absolutely. Though, of course, there are no guarantees that your second dd would be equally lovely!! There is a huge element of luck, I think!

dd will have a play mate and someone that has her back which I didn’t have (I was terribly bullied)
Yes, sibling relationships are wonderful when they work. DSis and I played for hours when we were little and I have lovely memories of those times. My mum occasionally tried to join in, and frankly, she just wasn't as good at playing as my sister was! Having said that, I was also bullied and DSis didn't have my back at all... not interested, didn't want to get involved. Whereas my only dd has never been bullied but has an army of friends who would look out for her if she was. And she was never short of playmates tbh.

when we (dh and myself) die, she will have someone to share the memories with
I think that's true, and if I'm honest, I do worry about bit about that for dd when we're gone. I can only hope that, by that time, she'll have built her own lovely family and support network, and that she won't feel alone. I used to worry about her having to deal with ageing parents by herself, but I stopped worrying about that when I realised that I am having to deal with that alone anyway, despite having a sibling...I think I would actually find it easier if there was nobody to resent for not stepping up properly!

Ultimately, I think it's a really personal decision. There is no right or wrong, and it just boils down to whether you actually want another baby. There are pros and cons to each family set-up, and there are also so many other variables - this means that the experiences of only children and siblings are all so different that it's impossible to really generalise much.

Sandysandwich · 28/07/2022 10:15

@Lady1066

He was interested when she was born, but not overly fussed, he would come over and hug her or pat her face then go back to playing.
I think it helped that I have a lot of siblings so if someone came to see the baby there was someone there to play with him- and he was more fun than a newborn so he still got attention from visitors. And I wasn't still breastfeeding him so he wasn't jealous about that.

He did really well with alll the change, he called her Bayyybeeeee for a long time and liked to stroke her and I taught him to fetch clean nappies for her and he always looked very proud to bring them over and have a job.

I think the only 'negative' was that he was still a toddler and was not particularly gentle, so he would try and hug her by picking up her head, and if they were on the floor he might try and crawl over her. But I didn't leave them alone together when she was tiny so it was okay

Holly60 · 28/07/2022 11:44

My two are best friends and have been since my second child was born. They are adults now.

I'm lucky as well to have had one of each so I think that I felt that the lovely relationship I had with DD before DS was born carried on and I have lovely individual relationships with them both.

Holly60 · 28/07/2022 11:50

I also adore my brother and am so grateful for all he has brought to my life.

Our children grew up together and are brilliant friends as well as cousins. I adore my sister in law and I know my brother will always be there for me

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