Only Child Syndrome, Explained: Why They're Not Just Weirdo Loners

[theemii]

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From Friend's Chandler to Gilmore Girls' Rory (& Lorelai & Paris & Lane...) to The O.C.'s Seth Cohen to New Girls' Schmidt and beyond, being an Only Child can be... interesting. There’s just something about only children that makes them stand out… Spoiled, self-centered, weird, and lonely - growing up without siblings shapes them in a way that

Comments

[swimbee]

I’m an only child. Growing up I was the only one of my friends who didn’t have a sibling and I felt left out because of that, but I’ve always enjoyed being alone and was always able to entertain myself so I guess ultimately it was beneficial. I remember being on a school trip in eleventh grade and I had offered to share something with one of my classmates and my teacher told me she was surprised that I was an only child, which at the time I thought was a criticism but once I got older realized that it was a compliment lol.

My mom struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse and died when she was 43 - it was hard dealing with all that alone as a teenager but ultimately I was glad that I didn’t have a sibling who was subjected to it too.

[nomoneyfun]

I also had a mother who struggled with substance abuse. While I was primarily raised by my dad, if my parents had another child after me, I would've had to help raise that child, which really would have sucked.

[__onthebound]

My sister and I are 2yr apart and feel we raised each other. I'm the younger. Mum gets so offended when I say that. She might've been great at taking us from activity to activity. But she was passed out drunk every night and we took turns putting her to bed. She never acknowledged it. Now she says "I'm sorry you had to see me in that way" and I .....that is not helpful

[nomoneyfun]

I understand that parents don't have a time machine, but it is so wild that any discussion of how they failed us as children prompts this response. It's like...and now you're failing me as an adult because you're denying my reality and not taking any accountability!

[swimbee]

I lived with my mom throughout most of her addiction and the resulting illness, and it was really tough on me at the end. I was always wishing I had someone to help me care for her because it was a lot just for one person, but there's no guarantee a sibling would've or could've actually helped, and in the end I could've wound up with a child to finish raising after and it really is for the best that it was just me. You're right, that would've sucked.