Is an Only Child a Happy Child?

Now, I obviously don’t have much experience in this area, reason being I am the eldest of three kids. Of course, I get my dues of being the eldest, positive or negative.

For example, important family decisions are now always run past me (boy that makes one feel important, doesn’t it?). I am always introduced as, “This is Khristina, my eldest.” (Pride, pride) But on the other hand, I was always “reminded” to be an example to my younger siblings; yet, I always seemed to be making the mistakes.

Anyways, my point is, what is it like being an only child?

My guy, who is an only child (and only son in his immediate family), tells me when he sees others fighting with their siblings over bikes and computers, and later on in life, over property, he cannot help but feel privileged to be an only child. “We don’t have to share anything, we get all the attention, we are spoiled silly,” he guffaws.

It’s only when day to day life becomes boring is when he wishes he had a sibling, “but that is rare,” he points out.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Natalie Portman once said: “I would never have been an actress if I weren’t an only child, because my parents would never have let me be the star of the family at the expense of another child.”

In fact, the Understanding Society took up a study tracking the lives of 100,000 people in 40,000 Brit households. Here it was found on children and happiness, that:

- Seven out of 10 British teenagers are “very satisfied” with their lives.

- Children from ethnic minorities are on average happier than their white British counterparts.

But, most importantly,

- Happiness declines the more siblings there are in a household.

Okay, I may have wanted to strangle my brother once in a while, or not talk to my sister forever, but thinking of a life completely without their existence is impossible. I mean, fighting is fun too, right? And what about all the fun stuff siblings get to do together?

So, all you sibling-less or otherwise, what do you think? Is an only child ONLY a happy child? Tell me your stories