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SALT LAKE CITY -- When we think of the stereotypical "only child," we may think of someone who is spoiled or sheltered. Some researchers, however, say only children behave more like the firstborn than the baby of the family.
"You have only-borns and firstborns who are academically very successful, and they're achievement oriented," says Dr. Cheryl Wright, chair of the University of Utah's Department Family and Consumer Studies.
Wright says parents of an only child do quite well in making sure he or she doesn't grow up as isolated, as people think.
"Their parents make sure they have contact with a lot of peers and a lot of other children," Wright says. "So, only children are engaged in preschool programs; they're engaged in play groups."
That's not to say there aren't some disadvantages to being an only child. Wright says parents have more of a potential to over indulge the only child.
"You have more financial resources with only one child," she says. "You have more personal resources when you're only focusing on one child."
Plus, there's something about a bond someone has with their siblings that may seem hostile at first, but it grows into a strong relationship when they become adults. Wright says an only child may miss out on that.
"Your siblings are you life-long friends. They are the people you will have the longest relationship with," she says.
Wright says parents should try to help their child form a tight bond with their cousins or other kids of the same age. She says the bond they form may not be as intense as it would be between siblings, but at least that kind of bond will be in the child's life.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
