The husband and I were talking about the concept of The Only Child the other day and decided it need not be a bad thing. They usually have a rep for being spoiled, but I pointed out plenty of people in this world with siblings who are self-centered beyond belief. I held up Gnat as a shining example of a seemingly well-rounded only child. And then I laughed: "If Gnat ends up with any neuroses, it won't be from being on only child; it will be from the fact that her life has been shared with the world in Being John Malkovitch style!"
It was a bit coincidental, this conversation we had.
Today Gnat learned that the world knows her as Gnat.
Well, let me give you an example of how it can all go horribly wrong - JUSTIN is an only child. :)
Posted by: Genie at October 9, 2007 01:24 PMParenting is the reason for kids being spoiled, not whether they are an only child or not. Many only children tend to pick up the "spoiled" label because parents with an only child generally have more money... this means the only child has more stuff than if the parents had more kids. This leads to jealousy... yada yada yada.
In the end - what are the kids like? Are they polite and well behaved in public for the most part? If they are, the parents are doing a good job, regardless of how many children they have.
Posted by: Teresa at October 9, 2007 02:57 PM