The benefits of being an only child

Lauren Sandler, MA Journalist and Author of One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One, explains what the benefits of being an only child are
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The benefits of being an only child

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We tend to not think that there are benefits to being an only child, right? And it is funny because there really are. There are many of them. One of the benefits is that you have a very, very strong primary relationship with yourself, meaning you can really rely on youself in a different way socially, in terms of confidence, in terms of strength. All of the things we associate with loneliness can actually be powerful. Solitude is very different than loneliness, and with solitude comes a lot of strong. You also have the advantage of your parents´ full resources, not just money but time, energy. The number of words that parents speak to an only child is twice as many as they speak to two siblings. These are incredible benefits just in terms of the richness of a family that can be focused on a kid that way. The key of course is not overfocusing, so there is always a question of balance. But to be an only child really does allow you to have a rich inner life and a rich outer life with wonderful friends, an engaged family and all the incredible resources that a family can offer when it is not divided per sibling.

Lauren Sandler, MA Journalist and Author of One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One, explains what the benefits of being an only child are

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Lauren Sandler, MA

Journalist & Author

Lauren Sandler is the author of One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One, and a journalist who writes on cultural politics and gender issues for publications like Time, The New York Times, and Slate. And she’s as an only child and the mother of one herself. 

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