Community Chat

[muttmom]

On 11/8/2014 NoelSeven said:

On 11/8/2014 muttmom said:

There are a lot of only children here which surprises me.

In elementary school, I knew 1 only child and she was a spoiled brat. She was demanding of the teachers and anyone who befriended her.

I am thankful that I had siblings. There was a lot of plain old family fun. I do not ever remember wanting to be an only child. I also knew I wanted more than 1 child.

Gee, thanks.

I am not the only poster who is thankful for his/her siblings.

Just as some only children chose to have an only child, why is it wrong for me to say I knew I wanted more than 1 child?

There are some who wish they were only children.

[muttmom]

On 11/8/2014 Plaid Pants said:

On 11/8/2014 muttmom said:

There are a lot of only children here which surprises me.

In elementary school, I knew 1 only child and she was a spoiled brat. She was demanding of the teachers and anyone who befriended her.

I am thankful that I had siblings. There was a lot of plain old family fun. I do not ever remember wanting to be an only child. I also knew I wanted more than 1 child.

That was just that particular person. Spoiled brats can have multiple siblings, too.

One is not indicative of the other.

I did not say it was. She was the only "only" child I knew.

[HisElk]

On 11/8/2014 makeup addict said: I am! Whenever we went on vacation, I was allowed to take a friend with me so it was like having a part time sister. . I'm very close to my parents and I will have to move closer to them in a few years to help them out. I do feel like Im more independent than a lot of my friends who have siblings.

Same here, makeup addict. One of my very close friends was a girl whose father left their family and her mother worked a lot to keep the family together. They really didn't have a lot of money and my parents really liked her a lot. She was like you said, having a 'part time sister'.

Both of my parents are passed, and even though I have a husband and 2 sons, it's still not the same, particularly around the holidays.

[Plaid Pants]

On 11/8/2014 Jules5280 said:

On 11/8/2014 Plaid Pants said:

I am an only child, and I hate it. I know that even if I had one sibling, that it would be no guarantee that I would have help in taking care of my 88 year old father.

It just gets so dam frustrating being a care-taker sometimes.

That's the part that nobody likes to talk about.

I can totally empathize with you Plaid Pants. After my mom died I moved from another state to live with my father and help care for him. Over the past couple years his health started to fail and it was a full-time job. I would do it all again because I wasn't around when my mother died and I didn't want to make that mistake with my father...he and I were very close, I was a "daddy's girl". He passed away this April at almost 89 years old and I miss him beyond words. There were many times I got so very frustrated being all alone caring for him with no help, but I would do it all again if I could have him back.

Your father is lucky to have your care. Try to cherish the good moments even though what you are doing is hard work. Take time for yourself...so often the care-takers put themselves last, but it's important to take care of you too. (((Hugs))) to you, and remember you aren't alone, many people are in a similar situation but you are correct, it's not a conversation people enjoy talking about.

I do hear what you are saying. It's kind of a love/hate thing being a care-taker.

I love my dad dearly. I'll be devastated when he's gone. I help him out as much as I can, willingly, but, maybe it is because I am a single woman, (no kids) and I am doing this all by myself, that sometimes gets to me.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to whine, and my pity party is now over.

[Kalli]

On 11/8/2014 muttmom said:

There are a lot of only children here which surprises me.

In elementary school, I knew 1 only child and she was a spoiled brat. She was demanding of the teachers and anyone who befriended her.

I am thankful that I had siblings. There was a lot of plain old family fun. I do not ever remember wanting to be an only child. I also knew I wanted more than 1 child.

muttmom, I knew I wanted more than 1 child, too. In fact, when I had trouble conceiving the second time around, I got very sad. My children are 4 years apart but I wanted them closer, it just didn't turn out that way.

And I, too, knew few only children….maybe because I attended a Catholic Elementary school??

-Kalli

[makeup addict]

My mom wanted 12 kids. She was from a large family. SHe and dad weren't sure they could have kids. I was a late surprise. .

[NoelSeven]

On 11/8/2014 muttmom said:

On 11/8/2014 NoelSeven said:

On 11/8/2014 muttmom said:

There are a lot of only children here which surprises me.

In elementary school, I knew 1 only child and she was a spoiled brat. She was demanding of the teachers and anyone who befriended her.

I am thankful that I had siblings. There was a lot of plain old family fun. I do not ever remember wanting to be an only child. I also knew I wanted more than 1 child.

Gee, thanks.

I am not the only poster who is thankful for his/her siblings.

Just as some only children chose to have an only child, why is it wrong for me to say I knew I wanted more than 1 child?

There are some who wish they were only children.

You made being an only sound like a bad thing. It's insulting.

[brii]

I would never want just one child. My two are very close.

[my oh my]

No but I'm the favorite.

[NoelSeven]

On 11/8/2014 brii said:

I would never want just one child. My two are very close.

There's an insensitive way of putting it.