unable to share

Only Child Syndrome: Stereotyping In Disguise!

  Here is an interesting article and the start of some research from 17 year old Alexandra Baker whose own experience has inspired her to do a project on only child stereotyping. If you want to take part click the link below! Link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HJDBWZ Alexandra says: As an only child, I have been intrigued (and often angered!) by the comments made by others who say all only children are lonely spoiled brats who are unable to share. Where has this unfair presumption come from? I am a 17-year-old student from the UK and my first-hand experience of such negative comments has inspired me to undertake a project (Extended Project Qualification) looking into only children and how they are viewed by others. Through my project I hope to show that only children don’t deserve such unfair stereotyping. I’m sure many only children have overheard people talking about only children and heard them being described as ‘spoiled’, ‘lonely’ and [...]

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Being an Only – carries a Stigma – socially.

You see – because I was brought up as ‘an Only Child’ (I am a surviving twin) there is an assumption, generally, that (a) I was spoilt (b) I don’t know how to share (c) I don’t know how to mix.  Oh if those who make these assumptions  – ‘knew’ of the inner and private ‘pain’!! None of these is actually correct.  I enjoy meeting other people, learning about their personalities etc., and as for ‘sharing’ maybe I have ‘compensated’ a little too much in this way, by causing myself to become ‘victim’ to those who have ‘taken advantage’.  Most of all – the one very absolute thing that both angers and hurts comes from the lips of those goodly souls – with ‘a thousand brothers and sisters’ –who take it upon themselves to ‘declare’  - “of course, you are an ONLY child, aren’t you”.  The way in which this [...]

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