Dear Editor
I am writing to express my opinion on whether it is better to be an only child than one with siblings. Many couples are now not willing to give birth to more than one child. It is clear that the children from the one-child families live in a different way from those with siblings. I think there are both advantages and disadvantages for being an only child.
The only children can enjoy the undivided attention and care from their parents. Raising a child requires a huge amount of money and effort. If there is only one child in the family, the kid can receive all the things provided by the parents. Thus, the only children are considered to have better growth since they have their parents’ support for their studies and extra-curricular activities.
Another possible advantage is that the only children are seemed to be more independent than the children with siblings. The only children need to do all the things on their own when they are outside since they have no brothers and sisters to help them. The no-sibling children could learn to face difficulties alone and solve problems by themselves. Therefore, people generally think that the single children have greater maturity and independence.
However, there are, of course, some drawbacks of being an only child.
There is a tendency for the only children to have a poorer quality of individuality than the ones with siblings. As the only children are always the centre of attention in their families, they think that they are the most important person to their parents. Some of them may even catch the ‘prince disease’ or the ‘princess disease’. A person who contracts any of these ‘diseases’ behaves like a prince or princess. They tend to be selfish, picky, self-centred and arrogant. Therefore, the personalities of the only children are, apparently, less pleasant.
It is extremely likely that the on-sibling children live under high pressure. Since there is only one child in the family, the parents have an over-high expectation of their child. The children have to do everything in the best way and fully obey their parents to live up to their expectation. This greatly increases the burden bore by the single children. Therefore, it is evident that the only children have a harsher childhood than those with siblings.
Taking both advantages and disadvantages into consideration, I think being an only child is not better than being the one with siblings. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages because they will cause long-term harmful effects on the children and they can affect their whole life
Yours faithfully
Chris Wong
Chris Wong