Please let me shamelessly brag here: I am so happy I only have 1 child!

[Anonymous]

I keep forgetting how expensive it is with 2+.
Told my friend about a cheap camp for spring break - she reminded me she had to pay a lot for 2 kids.
Now I see a topic where parents won’t shell out money for assigned seats on airplane because the family is so large.
It is so, so easy to have only one, especially when they are 9+ yo.
I might of course get my karma when he is a teen but for now I just enjoy it so much.
Thank you for listening! I can’t say that in real life as my friends all have 2.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations. I personally enjoy the love and awesome relationships with each of my four kids. To each their own.

[Anonymous]

That sounds great. If you told me that I wouldn’t be insulted. It may be cheaper and easier, but more kids is richer and your friends are thinking that. But at the end of the day that’s great, you’re happy. They are happy too.

[Anonymous]

My first has special needs. I am so thankful that I have a healthy, functional second child!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sounds great. If you told me that I wouldn’t be insulted. It may be cheaper and easier, but more kids is richer and your friends are thinking that. But at the end of the day that’s great, you’re happy. They are happy too.

Really? Definitely not universal. Families are all so different, but the highlighted is not guaranteed. I have multiple friends who have several kids and are like, "If I knew then what I know now...I would have stopped" as well as people with multiple siblings who feel like, "I hope it was worth it for my folks! Because I hope every one of my siblings dies of Corona!" You can't really generalize about anything related to family size.

[Anonymous]

I’m also glad I only have one. I tried for two and was devastated that I couldn’t have another but ironically years later I’m so glad we only have one. I never expected to feel this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That sounds great. If you told me that I wouldn’t be insulted. It may be cheaper and easier, but more kids is richer and your friends are thinking that. But at the end of the day that’s great, you’re happy. They are happy too.

Good to know you wouldn’t be insulted! I try not to glee IRL lol

[Anonymous]

I'm a mom of 2 and I say congratulations! I'm glad you are happy.

I've got one really easy, high achieving, nice, helpful, hardworking kid, and then I've got one that is really difficult on a lot of levels. I spend so much extra time and money on the difficult one, and actually that isn't the tough part, the tough part is that it's really thankless and emotionally challenging and negative, and it's taken a toll on our marriage (but we'll survive it).

(Of course I love both, and am kind to both--just articulating that so as to stop the pot-stirrers) And also, to be clear, just like OP, I am talking about "the now," things can always change, and in fact, with Difficult Kid, I think the move to college will really help both that kid and the rest of the family.

Back to OP's point...DH and I were having a conversation the other day about how if we only had Easy Kid, our lives would be easier and frankly, much happier and fun in the present. However; if we only had Difficult Kid, it would be really joyless.

No matter how many or few kids one has, there is sort of a trap of "a parent is only as happy as her least happy kid." So the chances that you get a tough kid go up the more kids you have, because it only takes one to tank parental satisfaction.

So I think parents of 1 kid, if they get a little person who is fun, compliant, or otherwise easy (rewarding) to parent, you really can hit the jackpot. Sounds like you have, OP! But I also think it would be really rough to have one kid who has a difficult personality.

And one tangent is that I have two of the same gender and they have been very different since Day 1. If I had only Easy Kid I would be really smug and think it was my awesome parenting that created Easy Kid. Having Difficult Kid has sure kept me humble.

[Anonymous]

I have 2. Both are easy kids. Their fathers take care of them most of the time. Glad I had them.

[Anonymous]

My 6th has the stomach flu and was barfing all evening. You can add that to your list of joys. I LOVE having a bunch of kids, but not so much when the stomach flu starts passing through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 2. Both are easy kids. Their fathers take care of them most of the time. Glad I had them.

So why did you have kids?

[Anonymous]

OP here: my kid is not super easy, he is somewhat skeptical and anxious and prefers his digital life to anything else really... I “make” him go on trips with me, try new activities and such.
I wish we had a bit more in common (he is more like his dad).
I had a fairly difficult 3 years with him from 5 to 8, too.

[Anonymous]

I would be totally fine with someone saying that to me. I adore my two and never wish I just had one. Watching them together has made my cold black heart grow three sizes.

I am VERY thankful I don't have three though. I'm also thankful I never have to deal with another pregnancy or infant ever again. I always think "praise the lord that part of life is finally over and done with!" when I hear a friend is expecting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep forgetting how expensive it is with 2+.
Told my friend about a cheap camp for spring break - she reminded me she had to pay a lot for 2 kids.
Now I see a topic where parents won’t shell out money for assigned seats on airplane because the family is so large.
It is so, so easy to have only one, especially when they are 9+ yo.
I might of course get my karma when he is a teen but for now I just enjoy it so much.
Thank you for listening! I can’t say that in real life as my friends all have 2.

I'm only one of two and I have always wanted to be an only. Nice to hear you are enjoying all the perks as it is likely my path as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2. Both are easy kids. Their fathers take care of them most of the time. Glad I had them.

So why did you have kids?

Maybe she just got knocked up by the two men?