A friend of mine is trying to figure out whether to have another child or not, so she surveyed the people at work who have no siblings. One said, "I'm an only child and I'm fine." The other said, "Don't do it! I was so lonely!" So everyone has their own different experiences growing up.
Another thing about only children (sorry, it's a little on the negative side) is that a friend is an only child. Both of her parents passed away in the space of a year (before she was 40). Yes, she ended up with the house, but she doesn't really have any other relatives, only one or two distant cousins, so it was, and is really hard for her.
With the large age gap between siblings, my aunty is 8 years older than my mum. It's only the two of them, there aren't any other siblings. My aunty actually chose my mum's name and she helped raise my mum. Now, they are so close, they're inseparable. My aunty is like another mum, and I've always been close to my cousins.
One last thing, my sister and I are 3 years apart. No other siblings. Yes, we did fight growing up, but now we are really close. I think seeing my mum and my aunty's close relationship really helped.
My dad had 2 brothers and a sister and he's not half as close to them as my mum is with her sister!
Hi Emz - My husband and I have just had our baby. We have always planned to only have one and honestly no matter what anyone says, that is not changing. We have very strong beliefs about this and get the cruel comments. We wont be swayed but do realise that we need to make sure he gets enough interaction. Good luck!
Hi Emz - interesting thread! Iam an only child and was very definite that i didn't want my child to be one too. I've 2 now and really want another, we'll just have to wait and see. I found it very lonely in my childhood and although i was materialistically spoiled my parents weren't that into me (I think i have "accident" stamped on my forehead even though my mum swears i wasn't... but they had been married 9 years!). I don't think 'cruel' is the right word but then i wouldn't say it was 'ideal' to be an only child. I think everyone has a right to chose without judgment on how many kids they have. I had this conversation with a work friend of my DH around a year ago and she was completely the opposite in that she was the youngest of 3 and was so sick of all the fighting that she only had one child, I guess it all hinges on the individual's experiences as there's quite a few earlier posts where people have really liked being only children.
All the best in whatever you decide.
Julie x
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