Only child

I’m an only child myself and my partner has a few siblings but we’re both so undecided if we’d like another baby or not. He says it was great growing up with siblings as you always had someone to play with etc, I had cousins similar age but I think I would have liked a sibling. I can definitely understand the guilty feeling though. X

I didn’t get a sibling til I was 7. I spent a lot of my childhood lonely but that’s because my mum and stepdad both had to work a lot for us to live. So there was a lot of alone play time, and a lot of me asking to be played with and not getting it from them because if they weren’t working, they had other things to do round the house. And then when I did get a sibling I was roped in as childcare more often than not (especially when the next one came along when I was 13). So we didn’t have a baby until we were older, financially stable etc and I have chosen to stay home with her for the time being. It took me a long time to even consider 1, and I know we’re one and done. I take her to 4/5 groups a week for socialising, we’ve got friends with children (both pre existing and made via groups or peanut) that we regularly meet/stay with. We have time and energy to play with her when she wants/needs. I would feel more guilty having another and having to split my time.

No one inherently needs a sibling. Can they be nice, yes. Is it some basic human need, no. You should always do what is best for you because that will be best for your existing kid. I had a sibling growing up and we had nothing in common so even though it's lovely we never actually played together, some kids like independent play and some don't. Don't feel bad either way x

Honestly I did and didn't grow up with siblings. My older brother stayed at school during the week and was home on the weekends even during the summer. I only saw my little brother every other weekend. So really it was like I was an only child and saw other family only on weekends 🤷‍♀️ even tho I have 13 siblings in total. Most were adults/not known about yet (my stepdad got around), had passed away, or not born/adopted yet.

Anyone making these comments is a dick. Theres absolutely no guarantee anyone can have more than 1 child, so what would they say if you couldn’t conceive again? I hate hate hate these comments

My husband is an only child, I grew up with lots of siblings whom I don't really get along with even now that we're much older. He's always telling me how great his childhood was because he was the only child (he had loads of cousins though!). His relationship with his parents is amazing now too, whereas I don't have much of a relationship with my parents at all. Obviously there's so many other factors that have gone into this, but we're an example of an only child being far better off than the child with siblings. It's not always better to have siblings. Saying that, I still want to have another child 🤣 but not for the reason of giving my son a sibling. I think every family dynamic is so unique, only you will know what feels right for you. Ignore anyone else ❤️

We only have 1 child, I'm 42 and hubby is 45 so we definitely won't be having anymore children, our LB has a older brother from his dad's 1st marriage but we tragically lost him in September, I do sometimes feel guilty as he will be a only child as I'm the eldest of 7 and there was always someone to play with, but on the other hand our LB has lots of cousins and family members and we will just have him as our focus and tbh he has got us through the last few months more than he will ever know, I don't really think it matters if the kids are only child or with siblings, all that matters is they are loved, protected, tought, and grow to be a good person is all what matters xxx

I’m an only child, and didn’t really long for a sibling to be fair. There was the odd occasion where I thought ‘that might be nice’ but that’s it. I was never lonely, and always had friends round etc to play with. Equally, I played a lot on my own and it made me into a very confidently independent person! Now I’ve grown up I do again think it might be nice to have a sibling as my husband has sisters and their relationship is lovely. I’m pregnant with our second child now, and that will be our last. Initially my husband wanted three as he’s one of three, but we settled on two! A child doesn’t NEED a sibling - the best thing for a child to have is whatever works for you and makes you as parents happy!