Text: “Only Children”

Is an “only child” special in some way? If children have no brothers and sisters, do they develop differently? Are they likely to be more intelligent? Or less confident? Or shier? Or more selfish? Or are they just the same as children from large families?

Statistics often show that only children are “achievers” – people who become very successful in their careers. But firstborn children in general (not just only children) tend to be “achievers”.

In the 1920s and 1930s the child experts used to say, “Being an only child is a disease in itself”. In fact, of course, it’s impossible to support this. Only children naturally have a very different experience in childhood. They are always the centre of attention. No younger brother or sister arrives to challenge this, and to share their childhood with them.

One modern-day child expert believes they may be more dependent. They may be less willing to share things. They may have more difficulty getting used to school. But the phrase “an only child” does not necessarily mean “a lonely child”.

The professor of Child Care at Sheffield Hospital, Ronald Illingworth, says: “There is one great advantage for an only child. He or she receives all the love parents have to offer. A loved child usually grows up into a loving adult”.

So the general opinion of the experts is: Only children are not very different from “non-onlies” in either emotions or intelligence.

The journalist Angela Lewis interviewed several famous and successful people who were only children. Among them Noel Edmonds (a BBC radio discjockey and TV presenter), Sally Oppenheim (a Conservative MP), and Chris Bonnington (the Everest climber).

Sally Oppenheim: “My parents didn’t spoil me. In fact, they were stricter than many parents. As a child I used to talk to my dog for hours. (I think pets are very important to only children). Mostly I was bored. This has made me work hard in my career. I like to be busy. I married young – as an only child, I think I needed a close relationship with another adult. Even now I still don’t like being an only child. I have a horror of being alone”.

Noel Edmonds: “I was shy at school. I didn’t make many friends. I wasn’t used to being with other children. In the school holidays I used to play on my own. But I had a very good relationship with my parents. I don’t remember feeling lonely as a child, but I used to invent my own dream world. And I decided very early that I was going to be successful”.

Chris Bonnington: “I was shy. At times I was very unhappy especially when I was sent to a boarding-school at five. I didn’t make close friends until I was about thirteen. I became very good at being by myself. I had no one to rely on, and no one to ask for advice. That made me independent, and I’ve always solved my problems myself. My wife and I have two sons. We didn’t want an only child, because I felt I had missed a lot of things.”

Ex. 1. Read and translate the text.

Ex. 2. Comment on the following statements.

1. Only children are the same as children from large families.

2. Only children are “achievers”.

3. Only children are always the center of attention.

4. The phrase “an only child” does not necessarily mean “a lonely child”.

5. Pets are very important for only children.

6. Only children usually invent their own dream world.

7. Only children have no one to rely on, and no one to ask for advice.

8. Only children are more independent.

9. Only children are less willing to share things.

10. Only children may have more difficulty getting used to school.

Ex. 3. Discuss the following questions.

1. Is it good or bad to be a member of a big family?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an only child?

3. What traits of character do single children sometimes develop? What problems are they likely to have in future?