Benefits of being an only child

Peter Stavinoha, PhD Neuropsychologist, explains the benefits of a child being an only child and why they usually end up having higher achievement
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Benefits of being an only child

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There's this common myth that only children are just spoiled brats and that they get everything that they want and they're completely indulged. But the reality is that only children actually end up usually having higher achievement, academic achievement, they're very social, they maintain a strong social network. We think that that comes from the fact that they don't have to share resources the way that children in families of multiples do. So financial resources aren't spread among a number of children. And then parent time and attention is another thing that's not having to be shared with brothers and sisters. Parents also have to just be mindful that they don't want to shower too much attention on kids and become helicopter parents to where they're monitoring and watching everything that their only child does because they don't have anybody to compete with.

Peter Stavinoha, PhD Neuropsychologist, explains the benefits of a child being an only child and why they usually end up having higher achievement

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Peter Stavinoha, PhD

Neuropsychologist

Peter L. Stavinoha, PhD, ABPP, is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist in Dallas, Texas.  He directs the Neuropsychology Service at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and he is Professor in Psychology/Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He was named Distinguished Psychologist for 2005 by the Dallas Psychological Association. Dr. Stavinoha specializes in the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of developmental disabilities and acquired brain injury in children. As a general parenting expert, he is regularly interviewed in the media, Dallas morning television, Parents and Parenting Magazines, and numerous parenting blogs. Together with Sara Bridget Au, he is co-author of Stress-Free Potty Training. He has also authored several chapters in scholarly texts on subjects ranging from pediatric concussion to brain tumors in children. Dr. Stavinoha received a BA in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Stavinoha completed a residency in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the International Neuropsychological Society, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Dr. Stavinoha has a 16-year old son named Joe.

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