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To Have Siblings or Not

Beauts

Rock and roll will never die
Joined
Jun 15, 2012
Location
London, United Kingdom
I have 5 older siblings, I'm not particularly close to any of them but that's largely due to being the youngest by a few years. Our lives are in very different places and we are all very different people. I am quite independent, however, I wouldn't want to be an only child. I think it must be terribly boring, and I think I've learned a lot from having siblings- like not to repeat their mistakes, for example. Being able to learn from others is good, in my opinion.
 

Eduarda

Srishti is annie is eduarda right?
Joined
May 28, 2010
Location
Ontario, Canada.
I just have one little sister. She is 4 years younger to me.

Many, many times in my life I would wish that she would poof away and disappear. Many, many times I wished I was an only child. That I didn't have her with me. But now that I think about it, I don't want her to go. She may have been the most annoying, cry baby, tattletaler, mischievous little sister when she was small, but no matter what, she was my friend. We used to play together. Have fun together. Chat with each other. We were actual sisters.

Now that she's entering her teenager years, I can see that she's separating from me. She spends more time alone than with me. Sometimes I don't mind. I spend more time with my friends than her. So I can't really say anything. But sometimes I wish we were closer together again like we used to be.

So would I want to be an only child? No. I would want a friend to spend my childhood with. And I'm glad I did have that friend :)
 

sailorgirl221

What a fearsome beast!!
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Location
Oklahoma city, OK
I have a younger sister and we are only a year apart.. I remember when we were younger we fought like gladiators.. yes gladiators, and that's because we would get weapons she would grab a boom and I would grab a chair.. yep that bad! she provoked me ALL the time and she even knows it. lol. though no matter how badly we fought and how much we argued I wouldn't change the relationship that we have now for the world. e can talk about anything and and i can say without a doubt that i can trust her with my life, easily.
there is nothing that I would trade her for, nothing in the world.
 

Moonstone

embrace the brand new day
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
I also have a younger sister. She used to steal my things and ruin them (wearing my shirts and stretching them out, ruining controllers or making them gross with sticky fingers or by spilling juice). She still does things that I find selfish and questionable. But I love her. She's my sister, after all.

We did hate each other for a long time, but I remember the moment all that changed. She and I were dual babysitting our younger cousins. We never really talked about our own social lives before, certainly never anything that could get us in trouble with our parents if the other betrayed our secret. But she opened up to me that day. I saw her as a person, a person who desperately needed acceptance, and she saw me as someone who could keep her secrets and accept her for who she was. She began to trust me. It was kind of an amazing feeling.

I certainly can't trust her with anything though, haha. But that doesn't change the fact that I'll protect her secrets for eternity if she needs me to.


All that said, I can't say that, if it could start all over again, whether I'd prefer to be a single child or have a sibling again. It's great to know that someone relies on me, and that someone has my back, but I can make friends for that. The only thing I would worry about would be that being a single child would make me self-centered.
 

Nicole

luke is my wife
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Location
NJ
Atticus said:
Friends come and go, and pets only last so long. But brothers and sisters, they last for much, much longer.

This, in its entirety. Being an only child is incredibly lonely. Of course, you can have loads of friends, but it's not the same as having a sibling. Your friends aren't going to dote on you when you go to college like an older, more experienced sibling would. Also your friends are less likely to bail you out of jail than a sibling. Even as children, siblings are good for teaching important life lessons like sharing, being patient, et cetera.

I am an only child and I used to want a little brother. Now I don't. Given my family's current financial and emotional situation, there's no way another kid is even in the realm of possibility. And I don't want one anymore. I would honestly hate having a sibling at this point - I'm just too used to being an only child and having to fend for myself. Also, I'm my mom's favorite. I'd probably stage a murder in order to retain her favor. To be honest, my mom is pretty close to a sister to me because she's really chill with me (most of the time) and I can tell her almost anything. She even swears at me like I swear at my friends my age lol.

So, maybe in another life I'd like to have siblings, but as it stands, I'm glad to be an only child.
 

Mangachick14

Nerdy and Proud
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Location
Behind My Computer Monitor
I have an older brother who's 3 years older than me. We're not particularly close, but I don't think I'd want to be the only child either. He's been there my whole life, so I'm used to his presence.
 

*M i d n a*

Æsir Scribe
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Location
*Midgard*
Gender
Entity
Yes to siblings, for they are very important in my life. :) I have many, just not gonna mention how many. But I get along with all of them just fine, and if I didn't have them and I had been the only child, then my life would have totally sucked.
 

Mercedes

つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Location
In bed
Gender
Female
I'm the youngest of 7 children, I have 6 older brothers, and they are incredibly important to me. I couldn't imagine not having had them while growing up and I would probably be a totally different person without them.

I think having siblings is a nice thing to have, I'd want that for any children of mine. It gives kids someone to care about and look after right from the start, and they've always got company and someone there for them. I wouldn't ever defy a child of mine having more people around them who care and love them and will do anything for them. Sure, siblings argue, but when it comes down to it, they come through. However, one thing I saw happen and which I wouldn't want to happen are kids not getting the attention and care they need. In a big family like mine, we were left to our own devices a lot, it was impossible to, kinda, evenly spread out my parent's time. And so there were arguments about favouritism and being treated differently. And that's not nice. So, I'd never want to have enough children where they don't all get the same attention and the same care every day.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
In a big family like mine, we were left to our own devices a lot, it was impossible to, kinda, evenly spread out my parent's time. And so there were arguments about favouritism and being treated differently. And that's not nice.

I will tell you as the middle child of six kids, I was often given a lot of attention for multiple things. When I was born I was born premature, my sack weighed like 10lbs or something, I was a really small kid and I had tubes stuck through me. So I was given special attention for a good two years or so, even though the problem was fixed in mere months. Because of this my older brother and sister used to beat me up for being the "special attention kid". Initially I just cried because I didn't even know wtf a special attention kid was. Later on I realized that attention is important for little babas however it is not extremely important.

However even LATER than "later on", my little brothers and little sister used to get a lot of attention jsut because they were new babies and younger. I hated that. I wanted all of the attention. So I did a lot of things. I cleaned up the house all by myself (well, "the house" meant my room and the living room of course; other tasks were for the big kids and my parents). I rinsed off my plate when done with dinner. All of that sorta stuff. I was, by all meanings of the word, an attention seeking whiny little *****.

Anyway the moral of the story is, attention is not very important. Kids make a big deal of it but honestly it isn't anything. So what if mommy gave Johnny-bro more attention? Mommy still loves me. I won't know that immediately but I'll learn it with time. It ain't nothin' new yadig.
 

Mercedes

つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Location
In bed
Gender
Female
Well, I'm glad you handled it well, I'm happy it wasn't a problem, but that's not the case for others unfortunately. Neglecting children is a pretty serious thing, it can lead to a lot of kids acting up and misbehaving and just in general doing bad things because they don't get the necessary care and attention by people at home. You behaved rather well considering it, whereas other kids can just as easily fight, and get into a lot more trouble because they just don't get any attention at home.

Unfortunately the lack of attention was a problem for us, especially with a lot of very competitive boys roaming around the house, and you are right that when everybody grew up we realised it really wasn't that much of a problem, but it is a problem at the time, and I personally wouldn't want that problem for any of my children because it led to not a very nice, warm, loving household to be around. Mummy loves everyone equally and does everything for everyone equally. We never all sat down at the table with a meal or anything, and that's what I would have loved. Also, I didn't have both a mum and a dad, there weren't two parents there. Just the one. Caused problems I'd never want to see happen for any children I'd have, even if, in years to come, they'd be okay with it. I'd rather there be nothing bad, in time, they'll become okay about, and I'll try everything I can to do that.

So, really, I do think siblings are good, but I think people have too many and then can't give each child and care and attention they deserve. Some kids don't need that stimulation, especially in today's age of computers and the Internet, but I'd rather not bank on that being the case, or that they'll handle the lack of attention in a nice manner, and not an extremely self-destructive way.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
We never all sat down at the table with a meal or anything, and that's what I would have loved.

I'm a bit bi-curious now. Were you in a single parent household? In that situation things can be taken a lot more seriously, that much I understand. Like, if it were just my mom I think I would be an antisocial psychopath due to the overabundance and then lack of attention. It's basically being thrust into a different world and you just can't take the anger out properly. I'm not saying single parent households are unsuccessful, but because they're so different certain elements can lead to drastically opposite results. I had and have both of my parents around. So that may be why I came out alright in the end. I also had my annoying siblings to keep me on track, but this is likely because of my parents.

Erm...but anyway I have a story of my own to tell which is slightly relevant. When it was just me, my older sister and my older brother, we used to sit with the mom and the dad at the table and enjoy a meal. However nowadays we don't do that. My older bro eats out far more frequently and is never home to eat, being ac ollege kid and all. My sis locks herself in her room, or is at work - she's also a college kid. Me, I just can't stand my younger siblings. My dad is usually working too, and my mom just comes home tired. It's a bit harsh. But what it basically means is that I'm growing up.

In a single parent household I guess kids have to grow up quicker. No one WANTS to grow up really. But like, if you had to grow up, sometimes it'd be easier with siblings. Others find it easier without. :II

anyway my condolences, I'm sorry you had a rough childhood. :(
 

Dan

Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Gender
V2 White Male
I think it is important to have NO siblings. Too often now people are dependant on others, already I can see lots of people have went to their brothers and sisters for advice, you should follow your own heart, because there's one thing to do, just keep on moving ahead, there's no time guessing, and you should just follow your own plan instead, generally trusting in what you can't see is always the way to go, take your own load it'll set you free.

To conclude, being an only child builds up your own independence and gives you a real look at the world a lot quicker, that it's a very bit harsh place to live, the only reason people "love" their siblings are because they grew up with them, it's very selfish to love only your blood and very sickening, I bet if some people met their siblings in an alternate world, but had no knowledge of this, they wouldn't get on at all. A cold lesson I feel I must tell my own mother when she pulls out the love card, I'll firmly tell her "you wouldn't even like me if it I wasn't your son".

Issue 2, is overpopulation if you want a kid fine, but just have one, or adopt, there are so many children out there needing a home, and the planet is already overpopulated by stinking humans we really don't need any more produced in such a sick manner. I really appreciate people that adopt and don't take the selfish path and have a child just because it feels as if it's their "own" them, because most people find it far easier to love something THEY produced than a child that's adopted.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
To those who have siblings and hate their guts, just give it a few years and you'll realize what a luxury you have. Those like myself have to heavily depend on pets and friends for company, or specifically in my case, the Internet. Friends come and go, and pets only last so long. But brothers and sisters, they last for much, much longer.

Company ain't ****. I was born as a wild ***** free to roam as he pleased. Now I have to say, once you're introduced to something, it missing is a poor feeling. But if you never had that thing in the first place, it's just a longing that you created by doting on said thing. Besides, being an only child has tons of financial benefits. Obviously, parents have to accommodate for only one child rather than two, three, six, or sometimes even ten. Being an only child gives you all of the attention. Being an only child makes it easier to fend for yourself which, in this bit harsh world, is what everyone will ultimately have ot do unless they're a snobby rich little *****. Having siblings isn't a luxury, it's simply a different way of living life.
 

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