Hi Des,

I am an only child, but I don't feel that I am selfish or self centered in any way. I have always had a great deal of compassion for people. When I was a child, I used to give my things away to other kids who I saw had less than I did. My mom used to have to tell me not to give everything I had away, or I probably would have!( I think I get that from my parents though because they have always been very giving people themselves.)

My son is also an only child, and he has never been selfish in any way. He is very compassionate also, and giving of both his heart as well as material things. He was never demanding when he was little either, for example if he saw a toy he wanted in a store, he would tell us he liked it, but he would never demand that it be bought for him. Because of this quality, I have always given him anything I could. I never had a problem with him sharing his things with other kids, either. I have tried to raise him to be independent and loving at the same time, and he is.

I know people who have siblings, and they are very self centered, inconsiderate, and selfish. I could give you examples, but then this post would be really long . In short, I don't think it matters if a person is an only child or not. It depends on the person themselves.

Do I take offense to this post? Well, not personally, but I do hate stereotypes. Hopefully this won't be one of those threads that gets everyone riled up, there has been enough of that going on lately!

Sujin