There are so many personality traits common with people with no siblings that they’ve been termed symptoms of “only child syndrome.” Some of these traits are good, while others aren’t so desirable. Nonetheless, here are 18 signs that give you away as an only child.
You Love Your Personal Space
Being accustomed to spending so much time by yourself, you’ve grown up to love your personal space. You need to have room for yourself away from others and barely allow anyone into it. This may make you conflicted about how to balance your need for space and intimacy as an adult.
You Love Spending Time Alone
One thing that may have been difficult for you as a child and perhaps still experience is your comfort in solitude. You’re less social than others and, while some people tend to feel lonely due to this, others just prefer (and love) to spend some time alone to preserve or recharge their social energy.
You’re Independent
You have a greater tendency to be able to do things by yourself than others. This comes from the multiple times you’ve been forced to spend time or deal with your problems alone. You are self-reliant and self-sufficient in dealing with the things that bother you.
You Entertain Yourself Easily
Your independence and solitude may mean that you do not need anyone to make you happy, as it’s easy for you to find new things to keep yourself entertained on your own. However, this may sometimes involve creating imaginary friends, as a research study on ScienceDirect found.
You’re More Spoiled Than Others
Everyone has a bit of spoilage in them—especially if they have loving parents. For you, however, it’s more intense than others. This is usually because you didn’t have to share affection with siblings, so you probably got most or all of what you requested without any fuss.
You’re Emotionally Sensitive
People who had to deal with siblings fought a lot and developed thick skin from all their tiny battles. As an only child, you didn’t get to go through this. This makes you more sensitive to insults or negative behavior directed towards you, especially if it’s from someone you like or love.
You’re An Overachiever
As Carl E. Pickhardt, the author of “The Future of Your Only Child,” shares with Business Insider, you’re likely to have high expectations of yourself. This is usually as compensation for the emotional and financial investment your parents have put into you, which makes you a “self-dedicated, strong-willed individual.”
You Have Strong Bonds With Your Parents
There’s so much love between you and your parents that you share everything with them. They’re the ones you grew up with, spent most of your time with, and received undivided love from. So, it’s only natural that you have the strongest of connections with them.
You Were Wiser Than Your Classmates
You didn’t have siblings to tell you myths such as that that a plant would grow inside you if you swallowed its seeds. Instead, you’ve always dealt with adults when learning how the world works. This led to you having a mature personality as a child, enjoying hanging out with adults more than your peers.
You Don’t Like to Admit Fault
Since you didn’t have anyone constantly opposing your opinions or actions, you’re also less likely to admit when you’re wrong. As an adult, you find it more difficult to take personal responsibility for your actions and may find yourself looking for something or someone else to blame.
You Don’t Enjoy Sharing Things
There’s a stereotype about selfishness put on you, but it‘s not always that deep. You simply do not like sharing things because you aren’t used to it. This is especially true if your parents didn’t try to make you share things with them, and if it was always a one-way relationship of gifting.
You Don’t Like Compromising
Like with sharing, you also don’t enjoy giving up opportunities or freedoms to another person. You have always had everything to yourself and have lived in undivided comfort for most of your life, so the idea of giving any of this up for someone else may make you irritable.
You Are Bad At Conflict Resolution
Talking to the New York Post, relationship expert Jaime Bronstein explains that “some only children might not be used to dealing with sibling conflicts, which can translate to avoiding confrontation in a relationship.” If you aren’t one to avoid confrontation, you may still react poorly when responding to it.
You Think Outside the Box
One positive effect of having to do things on your own is that you use more creative methods to solve problems. You’re used to exploring your imagination to remain entertained, and this has caused you to develop unusually effective problem-solving skills.
You Love Peace and Quiet
The only type of noise you had to deal with growing up was the one you made. Now, any sound from somewhere or someone else most likely startles you or even makes you irritable. You’re not used to being disturbed by siblings, so you’ve grown to love the peace that comes with this.
You Love Attention
Since you’ve always had so much attention from your parents growing up, you feel uncomfortable when you don’t get any. According to YouGov, this is because only children have more disorganized attachment styles. While you may have grown past the constant need for care, your need for attention may have spilled over into your adult relationships.
You Quietly Exit Rooms
One subtle sign of being an only child is that you don’t tell anyone when you want to leave a room—you simply vanish. You never had to share your whereabouts with anyone since you were always alone in the house, so you don’t see the need to tell others now.
You’re Less Forgiving Than Others
When you get angry at someone, whether it’s for a genuine reason or not, you never let this person off lightly. Other people, however, find it easy to be angry at someone one minute and be nice to them the next. Since there is no way to hate on brothers and sisters, it’s an interpersonal skill that having siblings naturally helps to develop.
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