Thought.is

50 Truths About The Blessings And Curses Of Living Life As An Only Child

Only children joys and problems. 
Holly Riordan
July 28, 2016
“There is an unfair responsibility that comes with being an only child - you grow up knowing you aren't allowed to disappoint, you're not even allowed to die.”
— Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Tagged: only children, Death, Expectations
“I haven't met loads of asshole only children. If you fill a room with all the assholes you know, I bet that most of them have siblings.”
— Judy Greer, I Don't Know What You Know Me From: My Life as a Co-Star
Tagged: only children, Assholes, Siblings
“He’s an only child and could never understand the delicate joys of sibling abuse.”
— Cynthia Hand, Hallowed
Tagged: only children, Siblings, Abuse
“Being an only child is a disease in itself.”
— G. Stanley Hall, Disease and Crime
Tagged: only children, disease, Unhappy
“Being an only child and losing both my parents at an early age, I have found that the friends I have made over the years are the people who help me get through life, good times and bad.”
— Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes
Tagged: Friends, Life, Friendship, only children
“Because as an only child, you have your own little world.”
— Maynard James Keenan, Unleashed: The Story of Tool
Tagged: only children, Independence, Imagination
“It’s not your fault that your parents like buying you loads of Christmas presents to make up for the fact that they’ve left you sibling-less.”
— Vicky Chandler, 26 things you’ll only know if you’re an only child
Tagged: only children, Parents, Christmas, gifts
“You’re really comfortable by yourself. You don’t get people that say they hate being alone when you can happily have no human contact for a couple of days.”
— Vicky Chandler, 26 things you’ll only know if you’re an only child
Tagged: only children, alone time, human contact
“We prefer to avoid conflict. We didn’t grow up with a sibling to torment or to be tormented by and are therefore naturally averse to peer conflict.”
— Frank Bozzo, 30 Things Only An Only Child Would Understand
Tagged: only children, Conflict, Siblings
“We are old souls. As the majority of our interactions outside of school are with adults, we tend to be a little more mature than our peers and, as such, we act older than our age.”
— Frank Bozzo, 30 Things Only An Only Child Would Understand
Tagged: only children, Old Souls, mature
“We love attention. We grew up never having to fight for attention, in fact, we probably received a little too much of it over the years. We are used to being the focal point in social interactions and that is not an easy thing to give up.”
— Frank Bozzo, 30 Things Only An Only Child Would Understand
Tagged: only children, Attention, affection
“Unless your parents are super nice or super wealthy, there is no rule that says only children get absolutely everything they ask for. The one time we can truly ‘have it all’, however, is when we get the blame for something we can’t pin on a sibling.”
— Gena-mour Barrett, 17 Things Only Children Want You To Know
Tagged: only children, spoiled, Siblings
“Imaginary friends weren’t an option — they were essential.”
— Emory Ann, 32 Things Only Children Know To Be True
Tagged: only children, imaginary friends, Friendship
“As you get older, you’re kind of thankful for being an only child. You realize what you have, and what could have never been attained if other siblings were in the mix. College, shopping and even your first car were (somewhat) guaranteed to happen.”
— Emory Ann, 32 Things Only Children Know To Be True
Tagged: only children, College, Cars, Money
“Let’s face it, pets bring liveliness and love to the household, and they are always around to play with you. They grow up with you, show you affection when you’re sad and celebrate with you when you’re happy. When you’re an only child, you can never have too many pets!”
— Marion Schwaner, 20 Things Only An Only Child Would Understand
Tagged: only children, pes, Dogs, cats
“Since your parents didn’t have more than one child, your parents were not ‘broken-in’ to you doing certain things like staying out late at night. My parents wouldn’t call me just once, but maybe three to five times to see where I was.”
— Marion Schwaner, 20 Things Only An Only Child Would Understand
Tagged: only children, curfew, overprotective
“The entire stereotype of only children as spoiled, isolated brats can be traced back to one dumb statement made by a prominent child psychologist. It's like how everyone thinks spinach is a superfood because of a nutritional information typo, or how Tiger Woods' career tricked people into thinking that golf is fun and interesting.”
— Mark Hill, 5 Things People Don't Understand About Only Children
Tagged: only children, spoiled, brats
“With no brothers or sisters to pass the hard parts onto, I can't enjoy the stress-free life of leisure that comes with completely failing to live up to your expectations. If you're an only child, you feel like you have to get the great career and get married and have kids and support your parents when they're elderly, and you have to accomplish it all in a short time frame. And that's scary.”
— Mark Hill, 5 Things People Don't Understand About Only Children
Tagged: only children, Expectations, Failure
“Because you see it so much in pop culture, you can't help but speculate about what might have been. What if I had a brother to fight demons alongside, instead of having to do it by myself? What if he then went to jail on false charges and I had to get myself arrested so I could break him out?”
— Mark Hill, 5 Things People Don't Understand About Only Children
Tagged: only children, Siblings, Demons, Movies
“You don't think twice about why you got so mad when your favorite seat at the bar was taken, or when you had a conniption because the boots you wanted in mahogany brown were sold out, but your friends immediately chalk it up to your inescapable only child syndrome.”
— Erika Huber, The Only Child Life: 10 Life Realities All Only Children Understand
Tagged: only children, Jealousy, Anger
“An only child and his or her pet share a bond like no other.”
— Erika Huber, The Only Child Life: 10 Life Realities All Only Children Understand
Tagged: only children, Pets, Dogs, cats
“People always seem to think that growing up as an only child was hard on us when we were kids. But it was kinda nice – our friends would all have to deal with siblings they hated and would fight with all the time, while we got our rooms to ourselves and nobody to wrestle with for the remote control. It’s actually harder for us as adults, when all of our friends have become best friends with their siblings.”
— Jay Miletsky, 11 Things That Only Only Children Understand (and Want You to Know)
Tagged: only children, Siblings, Best Friends
“We had to be creative growing up. Without siblings around, we were forced to entertain ourselves. Whether it was through drawing, writing, or building something epic with Legos, our minds were always turning as kids, and it hasn’t stopped now that we’re older.”
— Jay Miletsky, 11 Things That Only Only Children Understand (and Want You to Know)
Tagged: only children, Creativity, Writing, drawing
“I learned how to talk to adults early on, something that some children don’t learn until they are adults themselves. Some might say it’s a rub against only children but I don’t feel like I missed out on any part of childhood.”
— Kayley Kravitz, In Favor of Being an Only Child
Tagged: only children, adults, Childhood, mature
“Not even middle school P.E. locker rooms could squash my fear of changing in front of an audience. If you shared a room growing up or were raised in a large family, you might not be so self-conscious about casually undressing with others around. Other private things, like urinating, are meant to be a solo experience for only children.”
— Laura Donovan, 8 Things Only Children Do Differently
Tagged: only children, self-conscious, private
“Only children seem to be better at tolerating boredom because they were always faced with it as youngsters.”
— Laura Donovan, 8 Things Only Children Do Differently
Tagged: only children, Boredom, Childhood
“With no siblings to play with as a kid, I invested all my energy into my friends, hence I always had playdates, birthday parties and social events to attend. Friends aren’t substitutes for siblings, but they can come really close, and they’re the ones you call when your mom and dad are driving you nuts and your pet dog can’t relate to you on a higher level.”
— Laura Donovan, 8 Things Only Children Do Differently
Tagged: only children, Friends, Dogs, social life
“You're really bad at babysitting. You never had to take care of a younger sibling, so you have no idea how to hold a baby or entertain a young child.”
— Pai-Lin Hunnibell, 15 Things Only Children Can Understand
Tagged: only children, Siblings, Children, babies
“The refrigerator is literally a shrine to your entire life. Honestly, you don't need your friends to see your third grade perfect attendance certificate when they walk into your kitchen. But without other kids to show off, your parentals hoard every little thing you've ever done and proudly display it next to the oven.”
— Hayley Glatter, 15 Struggles of the Only Child Life
Tagged: only children, bragging, accomplishments
“Whenever you go over to a friend's house and she starts fighting with a sibling, it's maybe the most uncomfortable thing in the world. You've never had to argue with someone over the remote, so you don't know how to back your friend up or react at all.”
— Hayley Glatter, 15 Struggles of the Only Child Life
Tagged: only children, Siblings, arguments