Single Children vs. Grown Up With Siblings

Outline

Thesis: Comparing and contrasting those who grow up as single children and those who grow up alongside their siblings.

1. Introduction:
2. Give a brief explanation of how child upbringing impacts the lives of children. In addition, looking at the impact on children who grow up without children.
3. Summarizing the role of parents or guardians in a child’s upbringing.
4. Health, economic and religious aspects play pivotal roles in deciding the number of children to have
5. Health problems contribute to some parents having only one child.
6. Economic status: Almost all parents decide on the number of children due to their economic power.
7. Religion: Some religions advocate having many children, while others have no qualms about having one child.
8. Extrapolating ways parents can help children adapt to their situations and have contented lives.
9. Parents must formulate ways of paving the way for the child to child to socialize.
10. Exploring ways parents can help children with siblings adapt to their context.
11. Steering the siblings towards games and projects to strengthen their relationships
12. Conclusion: Parents not only give birth to children but also play critical roles in defining their future.

Introduction

One of the principal objectives of getting into marriage is to sustain posterity and ensure that family lines continue to exist. Children are a source of profound joy in any given marriage, while the contrary is true. That said, parents play an instrumental role in the upbringing of their scions. For one, they are their role models and influence them in diverse dimensions, including instilling basic and religious values. Besides providing parental love, parents also help shape the future of their children through the provision of such necessities as education and medical care. Different homesteads have different varying numbers of children; some have an only child while others have two or more. This depends on a variety of factors, such as natural causes, economic status, and religion, and there are advantages and disadvantages pertaining to both contexts. Therefore, it is crucial to compare and contrast those who grow up as single children and those who grow up alongside their siblings.

Health, economic and religious aspects play pivotal roles in deciding the number of children to have. First, some parents have health complications that constrain them to sire only one child. The health complications may arise naturally or could result from occurrences such as accidents and other mishaps. Additionally, the Social-economic status of parents plays n overarching role in deciding the number of children to sire. Research shows a strong correlation between social-economic standing and quality of life (American Psychological Association, n.d.). This, in essence, means that parents with high social-economic status can provide a quality life to their children, regardless of their number. The contrary is true since parents with low income can ill-afford a quality life to many children, which forces them to have an only child they can comfortably provide for. The other factor that significantly influences the number of children parents can have is religious affiliations. In many communities around the world, religion plays a central role as far as family planning is concerned (Spiske, 2021). Research indicates that religious people tend to have more than a child because they highly prioritize children. The contrary happens among non-religious people who do not place much priority on children.

Given that only children grow up in difficult situations, parents need to provide optimum support in different ways to overcome their struggles and enhance their development. To begin with, parents must formulate ways of paving the way for the child to child to socialize. Ordinarily, only children tend to gravitate towards adults and adult talk, and they feel comfortable around them (Leahy, 2019). This is not advisable since children need to socialize with their peers. Again, they might pick the wrong ideas from the adults they coalesce around. In this regard, parents must improvise means to ensure their children have quality time with their age-mates. In this regard, they can find playgroups for their only child to enhance their physical and mental well-being. This is paramount as it will inevitably alleviate the threat of them feeling socially isolated. There is a profound need to avoid isolation since it is one of the prime risk factors of child development (Sidhu, 2019). In addition, parents must find time from their schedules to spend with their only children. This will consequently consolidate their bond and make it easy for the child to confide in the parents. Again, this is essential since the children may have issues disturbing them, and the closeness would help them discuss them. Equally important, parents of only children should ignite passion in their children. This will enable such children to engage in activities outside the house, sparking some sense of individuality.

Bringing up several children may not be a mean feat since they may have conflicting interests, which makes it imperative for parents to provide their support and guidance. Undoubtedly, siblings tend to be jealous of each other, which yields sibling rivalry with far-reaching consequences. To curb this irritating menace, parents must make it their foremost endeavor to create robust and longstanding relationships among siblings. One way of achieving this would be steering the siblings towards games and projects to strengthen their relationships (Kelly, 2023). The other strategy parents can employ to enhance strong relationships among siblings is by allowing time for each other. Normally, when siblings spend so much time together, conflicts arise, and they fight each other. However, when you let them spend time away from their siblings, they are bound to appreciate one another once they reconnect. Similarly, parents must desist from creating the impression of taking sides, especially when feuds occur. Doing so would aggravate rivalry because some children will get the feeling they are being unnecessarily sidelined. In some extreme cases, such children may isolate themselves from the rest and suffer from undesirable outcomes, such as depression and anxiety. In the same vein, parents must refrain from making comparisons among their children. This is because doing so would unwittingly promote an inferiority complex in some children. Instead, parents must teach their children to appreciate their differences. Over and above, when conflicts occur, parents must try and get to the root cause of the conflicts and do the needful to avoid recurrence.

Conclusion

The family set-up is one the most crucial components in any society, and people get into marriages to sustain posterity. Parents not only give birth to children, but they also play critical roles in defining their future. Some get an only child while others sire several, depending on factors such as socio-economic status and religion. Growing as an only child encompasses several benefits and disadvantages. The same is true for children in the company of siblings. When all is said and done, a child’s development depends extensively on the upbringing they get from their parents. This means that a child may grow as only one and avoid the challenges that children in similar settings undergo. This is because it all boils down to the input of parents. When bringing up an only child, for instance, parents must ensure that such children do feel socially isolated. On the other hand, parents bringing up more than one child must prioritize establishing sturdy relationships at the expense of sibling rivalry. In sum, parents must play an integral role in the development of their children.

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Children, Youth, Families and Socio-economic Status. https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/children-families

Kelly, K. (2023). 7 Ways to Help Your Kids Build a Strong Relationship. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/7-ways-to-help-your-kids-build-a-strong-relationship

Leahy, M. (2019, March 27). How do I ensure my only child isn’t socially isolated? https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/as-my-only-child-grows-what-is-my-role/2019/03/25/12b18e26-4a57-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html

Sidhu, S. (2019, January 7). The Importance of Siblings. https://hsc.unm.edu/news/news/the-importance-of-siblings.html

Spiske, M. (2021, March 9). Religious People Have More Children. https://www.oeaw.ac.at/news/religious-people-have-more-children