negative stereotype

Are you narcissistic? Is this part of the only-child syndrome?

Returning to the theme in a previous post on narcissism, I thought it would be useful to explore this further, not just about parents of only-child adults, but ourselves as only-children. I have to start by saying I am not a lover of diagnostic titles that pathologies human behaviour. All behaviour is on a spectrum and it is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking you either have a particular diagnosis or you don’t i.e. you are narcissistic or you are not. However it is much truer to ask: Do we all have narcissistic tendencies? and if so, Do only-children have them more than most? As narcissism appears to be at the heart of the negative stereotype of the only child, and part of the so-called ‘only-child syndrome’ I think it is a useful idea to explore. Lets start by looking at what is seen to be narcissistic [...]

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How I noticed the stereotyping of the only child – A mother’s view

Vivian Cameron-Gallo writes about her experience of having an only child and how it prompted her to write a book to promote the positive experiences of a family of three: I never really observed the only child labels before, they really didn’t affect me having grown up with an older sister. My Dad is an only child but I never seemed to have been exposed to the stereotypes of the only child with regard to my Dad. Maybe this was because he was five years old when the Great Depression began here in America. Many families were smaller at this time as people were struggling to make ends meet and one more mouth to feed would have been a hardship. Kids growing up during this era were resilient. My Dad would never fit the stereotypes of the only child. I couldn’t possibly imagine anyone calling him spoiled, selfish or lonely, in fact he is quite the opposite. So [...]

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Why do some families have only one child?

The growing number of one-child families, is an interesting phenomena that is occurring in both the US and Europe. With an increase in population the only-child family has been advocated as a way to curb population, particularly in China. One of the main reasons in the West for the increase in only children, appears to be due to such factors as later marriages, careers for women, a higher divorce rate, lower fertility and a desire to combine family and work. Having a child, and a career, is now a common expectation for women, and limiting the family to one child avoids some of the disadvantages of increasing financial responsibility, and dividing time and attention between children. In the past most families who had only one child did not do so through choice.  My research indicated that having one child was more often the consequence of a negative event, like a [...]

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