Any child who grew up in a large family can tell you that staying in the bathroom for more than a minute without someone trying to bang it down is luxury. It is understood that time alone or any privacy at all is not even an option. This can be pretty frustrating because, in a big family, everybody needs to know everybody’s business. Having more than one child may, on the surface, seem like a negative way to raise a family. However, growing up with brothers and/or sisters has the potential to make a child an overall, well-rounded person who is sociable, giving, and always earning to compromise in any given situation.
Although a single child may have the benefit of receiving more attention, they can also lack the ability to learn important qualities later on in life; or not even at all because they don’t have consistent and constant interaction like children with siblings. These children, unfortunately, often don’t understand the importance of compromise. Most of the time, the world revolves around them, at least in the early years. These children have a more difficult time adapting in a social setting like school. Children with siblings, by ontrast, have already been exposed to the art of negotiation long before school begins.
They know that in every situation a little give-and-take is necessary to get what they want. For example, if an older child wants to watch a specific program on television and their younger sibling is arguing, the older child knows that offering an otherwise coveted toy will allow them to watch what they want. It is this constant give and take that helps children with siblings adapt easily in almost any situation. One major time children interact together is during dinner. For children with at least one sibling, he dinner table wouldn’t be the same if there weren’t more than three people eating together.
One of the best ways for a child to become sociable is when they are around a big family at dinnertime. This allows a child to learn to communicate with other people in a social way and it also teaches the child to learn to become more respondent and intuitive. They learn that, for example, if they want an extra helping of potatoes, they better take it while there is still some left. They know that if they stand back and let others take what they want first, they will be left without nything at all. Growing up in a family where there is a lot of energy through the house can only have a positive impact on a child’s life.
A child learns to become more sociable and interactive because throughout their childhood they learn to communicate with other siblings even when they don’t want to communicate at all. Sometimes a child can grow up sharing a room with another sibling. This creates a companionship and trust that in the long run can only produce more friends. The companionship and trust is created over time because the siblings are with each other 24/7 and they learn to espect and share the same space. Children with siblings often realize at an early age that being quiet doesn’t earn them extra brownie points.
This teaches a child to become forceful and to stand up for what they believe in. For example, when the older intimating brother steals that favorite doll from the younger sister, the sister realizes relatively quickly that crying is not only going to not get the doll back but, in fact, will make things worse. That child learns to stand up for herself and not to give up until that very fashionable Barbie Doll is in their arms once again. This eaches a child that sometimes you have to be loud and dominant because you might not get what you want if you become passive.
Having a big family can only contribute to a child becoming more sociable and outgoing in the workforce. It can allow a more confident and strong-minded worker instead of a timid and quite one. In the work force employer’s look for people who are vocal, and have a great ability to communicate with other people. When presenting an idea in front of an agency the office wants someone who is confidant, strong-minded, and a great negotiator. Having siblings can only contribute to these types of ituations.
However, sometimes having a big family where only some members of the family are sociable can make the quiet and passive child feel more like an outcast in their own home. This is where being a child with siblings can be a little detrimental to a child’s development. The constant pressure to fit in with a family is sometimes just as hard as fitting in with friends. It allows the child to build up aggression and hate towards its own family and results in them becoming even more distant than before. Being an only child can help a child come into his or her own without any other pressure of eeping up with a sibling.
The constant pressure of feeling like mom or dad loves one of the other kids more can be a traumatizing experience for the other child. Although an only child can’t learn many social skills because of the lack of energy and people in the house, they can still learn to become more relaxed and confident because they aren’t constantly dealing with sibling rivalry. Even though single children can learn these important qualities, being a child with siblings is still the better outcome for children. Being an only child also has the potential to give a child a head start. Parents generally have more quality time to spend with a single child.
This allows a child to learn more advanced things at an earlier age. For example, in families with multiple children, it is often a daunting task to just get the children to bed. It involves making sure the children all use the washroom, brush their teeth, get a glass of water, etc. There is no time left to read a story or to just chat about the day’s events. A family with a single child, conversely, has only one child to worry about and can concentrate solely on that child, allowing for extra time to read a story at bedtime. It’s mine, give it to me,” is a common phrase when growing up in a big family.
Sometimes one bike or one purple fighting ninja turtle just doesn’t cut it in a family of two or more children. But in the long run they all learn what the true meaning of sharing is. Especially when money is not as convenient as it is in a single child home. One child in soccer, one child in football or baseball can get really expensive and the children have to learn to share their parent’s time and money with each other. Learning how to share with siblings allows children to become more caring and giving individuals. As the child grows, it will develop extremely important skills related to sharing and compromise.
They will better understand that, sometimes, not always getting what the child wants is the best thing. For example, siblings learn early that relationships take hard work and dedication. Hard work is a major skill on learning how to communicate with one another and to compromise in many situations. Also, in the future they learn how to earn things for themselves because they know it won’t be given to them on a silver platter. An only child, by contrast, is often spoiled with gifts because the amily has more money and time just for that one individual.
When sharing is not an option in a single child’s home because there is no one to share with can develop an adult who hates companionship, and socialization. This can mold a child into someone that doesn’t understand hardship, and can’t quite understand the honest living of a dollar because everything has been given to him or her. When a single child matures into adulthood and is off to University or College it might also be harder for them to adjust to sharing a room with someone else and the lack of privacy one receives.
An only child can have a harder time adjusting to the new surroundings, and may not gain the same amount of friendships that a child with siblings may gain. In conclusion, there are many positive and negative aspects that go along with having siblings versus not having siblings. Socialization, compromise and sharing are three very important skills that children with siblings learn at an early age. This allows them to become skilled individuals later in life. They are able to cope in varied situations and are better able to measure a particular situation and change their actions ccordingly.
Despite the fact that children without brothers or sisters may receive a lot more quality time from parents, and may be able to express themselves freely without the pressures of sibling rivalry, they may not understand the art of negotiation as well as children with siblings. They don’t necessarily understand that the world does not revolve around them. Children with siblings, however, are better equipped for dealing with the pressures of the outside world. They know whether advertently or inadvertently, that socialization, compromise and sharing are necessary for survival.
