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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think OP is long gone, but as a parent of an only, I wanted to point out a few things.

Yes, parents of one child need to be more intentional about scheduling play dates for their kids. It’s not about doing the parent a favor or giving them a break (my kid can happily play alone for hours!), it’s for MY child’s benefit and socialization. If I didn’t do that, people would be claiming she’s unsocial and weird. No win situation, at least on DCUM. Luckily we’ve never run into this hostility IRL.

Second, there are parents that hover and micromanage everywhere. We also don’t put a lot of effort into cultivating those relationships because those parents just don’t fit our vibe. One kid or two, that’s parenting style not family size.

Lastly, we put a good amount of effort into teaching our only to be inclusive and thoughtful towards siblings when she was younger, and it’s made a difference now in mid childhood. If she was seeing a friend and brought a special treat, we’d remind her to bring enough for all of the kids in the house, not just her friend. And lots of “don’t forget about Larla!” when they’d run off at the playground and leave a little sib in the dust. She’s not a “little mommy” type at all, but tries her best to be kind and compromise to include different age kids. That’s much easier now that little sibs are getting older and able to keep up with the big kid games.

Our only isn’t an only by choice, and it still hurts my heart to hear all of the stereotypes and generalizations about only children. Is she the exact same person as she would have been with a sibling? Probably not, but she’s also kind, thoughtful, independent, social, and a great kid. Good thing it’s a big world and there are enough families that look at each kid as an individual and not a stereotype based on our family structure. [/quote]

I posted before. I have 3 kids and my oldest BFF is an only child. She is my favorite of all my kids’ friends. She is awesome and I think it has nothing to do with being an only… I would never think badly of a kid based on their family size.[/quote]

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