The disadvantages of having siblings

[um]

Fascinating (if rather tongue-in-cheek) article in The Guardian today, discussing how only children tend to achieve far better than those with siblings.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... n-siblings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As a parent of 5, does anyone have any other thoughts on this?

[vasu]

I completely disagree with the above. I am an alone child. All my friends would be so jealous of me because the abundant attention I got from my parents. On the downside some would think of as spoilt!! Every evening as all of us would head home after playing together, my heart would break. All I could think of the fun everyone would be having with their siblings at home. .
I have always felt lonely in-spite of being very sociable and have hoards of friends. My parents never pushed me to do anything. They were always been worried about me and always kept a close eye on me and it continues till date!!!!!!
Academically I was a bright child but having my way effected the choices I made. I got admisson in Dentistry in college but chose to stick to a college where all my friends were at. My parents gave into this ill thought decision of mine. I regret it till date.

A sibling would have generated a sense of healthy competition in me. Would have made my parents less obsessive about me.

[Thingsbehindthesun]

I am the oldest and have three siblings,a brother three years younger then me and two younger sisters with an age gap of 9 and 11 years.

When I was younger, I resented having to continuously take on responsibility for the others such as getting them dressed, helping with homework as my mother was ill and my father worked 24/7.

At the end of the day, I don't think I would have wanted to be an only child as there were also lots of nice moments such as having someone else to play with all the time, "sharing sweets" etc .The thing with friends is that they might not always be your friends and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

[Camphillian]

As someone pointed out in the comments to this article, being an only child may lead you to think that everyone else is interested in you and wants to read about you! In fact most things that characterise only children (eg motivation, drive, higher IQ) also tend to apply to the oldest in a family of whatever size, although I have to admit as an oldest child myself that these particular qualities seem to have passed me by. I have been able to observe them in my own eldest DC though.

[khanj010]

They may achieve academically as there is more one to one attention , but i dont think they achieve socially.Being one its always me ! me ! me !
but having siblings gives you an ability to share and considor others feelings.
Also having siblings may be a pain when your young but when you are at a certain age you will not change them for the world (well almost)

[um]

Yes, my daughter's 4 brothers may be annoying to her now, but I hope they'll come in useful when she has a flat tyre

[scary mum]

As an only child I never missed having siblings, I was always allowed to bring a friend and had things and did things that would not have been possible had I had siblings. However now my parents are getting older ad need more support it would be nice to have siblings to share the "burden" (not really what I mean ).

[Belinda]

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[aargh]

My 2 sisters are awful, I have physical scars to prove it and my older sister and I still hate each other intensely.
My DH's 3 brothers are lovely they always got on/get on.
It depends who you have and how your parents deal with friction.

[lara228]

It depends who you have and how your parents deal with friction.

Absolutely agree. Have 3 much older siblings - 15-22 years older than me - they were brought up by a mother whose basic parenting theory was 'divide and rule' - they all hate each other. I was brought up pretty much as an only child - indulged, yes, spoilt, no and definitely the most balanced of the four of us (not just my opinion but that of most of my family). I'm the only one who has a relationship with both of my sisters (our brother - another story!!).

I have just one child and whilst I see many of the problems I had repeating themselves - ie, no cousins close in age, an aging family, no grandparents - the advantage he has over so many of his friends with siblings is an 'older' mum who perhaps has a more mature, balanced view on what is important in life and has the time to spend with him, introducing him to a wide variety of interests. I often take my DS to the theatre and concerts and buy 'family tickets' so that we can take some of his friends along - it amazes me how few of them have any cultural experience beyond the cinema and computer games.