Time magazine has done a fascinating article on the increasingly popular choice of having only one child. For now Remy is an only child, and time will tell if he remains one, but it is good to know that a lot of the negatives associated with being an only child are bogus.
"No one, Falbo says, has published research that can demonstrate any truth behind the stereotype of the only child as lonely, selfish and maladjusted. (She has spoken those three words so many times in the past 35 years that they run together as one: lonelyselfishmaladjusted.) Falbo and Polit later completed a second quantitative review of more than 200 personality studies. By and large, they found that the personalities of only children were indistinguishable from their peers with siblings."
I'm especially compelled by the sobering cost associated with raising a child - $286,050 by the time they graduate from high school. Does that mean that two children would cost a family $572,100? How is a family supposed to pull that off while paying a mortgage, contributing to a 401k, and saving for college tuition? This is definitely something I will be wrestling with over the next several months.
2 comments:
Most of the only children I know are fantastic, intelligent, loving, giving people. Though there are a few that have that selfish and maladjusted "only child syndrome" going on.
I think a lot of people are choosing to only have one these days primarily due to the increasing cost of EVERYTHING! I also know some people who chose to have one of "their own" and then to adopt some that need homes too.
In my mind the fear is, "What if something happens to us the parents?". We never want to think of our child being left alone in the world. Okay there are grandparents that would step in, they're old. Cousins? not the same thing. Aunts and Uncles-still not the same thing. Nothing like a sibling, someone who shares the same life experience. Well you know what a strange place my view comes from and that having a lot of siblings insures nothing. Another thing, people get raised on a lot less all the time (maybe most of the time) and turn out great.
You turned out Great! I take great comfort in the fact that you all have each other.
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