Did your only child want siblings?

[Anonymous]

11 years old son, never want a sibling.

One time about 5 years old , he asked me for a twins ( his own twins). He wants someone his age so he could play with. But sorry, you were born single. Nothing I can do, lol. ( I am a twin sister and maybe that why he thought he wanted one 🤣🤣🤣)

I am the oldest of 4 sibling. My mother felt that it’s good to have sibling but in reality, they put me through hell with it. They make sure I baby sat my your siblings without pay etc. they made it my responsibility to care for your sibling when I didn’t ask for any sibling, I already had my twin sister.
I’m not talking to any of my siblings except my twin. They only took advantage of me and my parents enable that.

[Anonymous]

lol, my son regularly comes home and thanks us for not having more kids.

[Anonymous]

Mine would love a same-age sibling, but that is the only context in which she's "asked" for one. She sees how siblings limit her friends' activities, and we've occasionally pointed out that some of the things we do (private school, big vacations) would not be possible with more kids. And thankfully we don't have a lot of clueless neighbors or relatives prompting the question, which I'm convinced is the only reason PP's kids think to ask.

DH and I weren't ready to try for another until DD was almost 6, and by then we had fertility problems. Now I'm 45 with an 11 yo and I'm pretty glad I don't have a preschooler as well, that would be exhausting.

[Anonymous]

The one time my only child asked for a sibling, he requested an older one. Lol. I can’t place an order for one of those.

[Anonymous]

My teen son never really did.

Occasionally he will say that for summers and vacation it would be nice to have a sibling, but only if it were a close in age brother.

In Kindergarten the teacher jokingly said to us "never have another kid, it would kill him!" which was fine and funny because she knew we were one and done like she was.

I am an only with an only. Pros and cons to everything but it's nice and suits all of us and is a lot simpler in many ways financially, logistically, and emotionally.

I did as a child, but that was just a fantasy about babies. As an adult it would be nice to bounce off someone else re: my parents but I've also seen so many other family dynamics play out where siblings do not make things easier or better so I realize it's all a crapshoot and am grateful for the peace and happiness I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one time my only child asked for a sibling, he requested an older one. Lol. I can’t place an order for one of those.

Haha, I am an eldest and I only wanted an older brother, not the younger sibs I got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teen son never really did.

Occasionally he will say that for summers and vacation it would be nice to have a sibling, but only if it were a close in age brother.

In Kindergarten the teacher jokingly said to us "never have another kid, it would kill him!" which was fine and funny because she knew we were one and done like she was.

I am an only with an only. Pros and cons to everything but it's nice and suits all of us and is a lot simpler in many ways financially, logistically, and emotionally.

I did as a child, but that was just a fantasy about babies. As an adult it would be nice to bounce off someone else re: my parents but I've also seen so many other family dynamics play out where siblings do not make things easier or better so I realize it's all a crapshoot and am grateful for the peace and happiness I have.

This is lovely, thank you for posting.

[Anonymous]

My teenage son has always been clear that he did NOT want a sibling. In fact, when we explained why our family pet was being spayed when he was 7, he suggested I have the same thing done since we also did not need babies.

He doesn’t know and will likely never know that I had 4 miscarriages from 5 IVFs trying to give him the sibling he doesn’t want.

Honestly I’m so grateful. His complete happiness with our family size is an huge comfort. Just got lucky that we got a kid who loves what we can provide.

[Anonymous]

Ours wanted an older one occasionally over the years but for the vast majority of the time has enjoyed the dynamic of not having siblings. My DH on the other hand, has expressed a desire to have fewer of his own siblings on occasion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teenage son has always been clear that he did NOT want a sibling. In fact, when we explained why our family pet was being spayed when he was 7, he suggested I have the same thing done since we also did not need babies.

He doesn’t know and will likely never know that I had 4 miscarriages from 5 IVFs trying to give him the sibling he doesn’t want.

Honestly I’m so grateful. His complete happiness with our family size is an huge comfort. Just got lucky that we got a kid who loves what we can provide.

Ok the comment about the spaying is over the top though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours wanted an older one occasionally over the years but for the vast majority of the time has enjoyed the dynamic of not having siblings. My DH on the other hand, has expressed a desire to have fewer of his own siblings on occasion.

I definitely wish my younger brother had never been born.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teenage son has always been clear that he did NOT want a sibling. In fact, when we explained why our family pet was being spayed when he was 7, he suggested I have the same thing done since we also did not need babies.

He doesn’t know and will likely never know that I had 4 miscarriages from 5 IVFs trying to give him the sibling he doesn’t want.

Honestly I’m so grateful. His complete happiness with our family size is an huge comfort. Just got lucky that we got a kid who loves what we can provide.

[Anonymous]

My son (6) has always wanted a sibling and he has been ecstatic since he found out I was pregnant.

He is very much a boys boy but has a very gentle and loving side. His PreK teacher told me that he was rough and tumble with the boys but when playing with the girls he was super gentle, talked quieter, etc. Would play babies and house after playing wrecking ball with dinosaurs.

He talks to the baby daily and assumed theyd be sharing a room and talks about teaching her how to play football and wrestle. We have had plenty of conversations about expectations: babies are babies, she wont be able to play for awhile, she may like coloring/tea parties instead, we just have to grow with her, babies are really loud, etc.

Hes already asked when we are having another- which were are not- and then he said well can you have two now instead?

I think part of it is socialized. We only know one other family with a single kid out of dozens of family, friends, and neighborhood kids. He has also never wavered from wanting a sibling.

[Anonymous]

My 12YO occasionally asked for a sibling when they were little. We always responded with "families comes in all sizes and our family is a 3 person family." We have an only by choice so the message was always - no you aren't going to have a sibling. Now they are thankful to not have to deal with sibling drama and to not have to share rooms/bathrooms like their friends. Several of their friends seem to have a lot of sibling drama so they hear a lot about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your only child ever talk about siblings (whether they wanted them or not)? Mine is 11 and often expresses how she wished we’d had more kids. This makes me feel sad and guilty. Anyone else?

I have four kids and the kids wish there were more. They dont get to pick, and it’s easy for an only to idealize siblings.