New book : One and Only

kristennd · April 2013

I just finished an advance copy of this : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-and-only-lauren-sandler/1114666068?ean=9781451626957

It's pretty useful as preparation for all the "but how can you" confrontations. And it's also just plain reassuring/validating.

The author is herself an only child (and fine with it) and has a 4-year old girl who will be an only child as well. She's also an investigative journalist so there are all kinds of case studies and interviews and bits from scientific papers.

I did feel that it skewed to the "Only children are superior and their parents are the happiest" rather than simply "They're no worse off than anyone else." I'm not an only child, so of course all the reasons that siblings are a disadvantage rather than simply not necessary got old.

She addresses both what it's like for the parents and what it's like for the child. There are chapters on emotional development, socialization, finances, leisure time, environmental impact, religious mandates, etc. Pretty thorough.