Boys and girls who are only children must often face social stereotypes and stigmas that label them as selfish, bratty, and spoiled. 'Onlies', as they are sometimes called, have different experiences with family and friends than those from multiple-child families. Today there are some 14 million only children in America, representing about 20 percent of all kids, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Only child

2. 1
Overview
Boys and girls who are only children must often
face social stereotypes and stigmas that label them
as selfish, bratty, and spoiled. 'Onlies', as they are
sometimes called, have different experiences with
family and friends than those from multiple-child
families.

3. 2
Overview
Today there are some 14 million only children in
America, representing about 20 percent of all
kids, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

4. 3
Resources
-- Only child: debunking the myths
-- 'Only child syndrome'
-- Only child experience and research

5. 4
Raising an Only Child
The following are suggested tips for raising an only
child:

6. 5
Raising an Only Child
**Give only children the chance to interact with other
kids**Social activities need to be engineered more for
only children, even as early as 18 months. Try play
dates, enrolling your child in preschool, or special
classes.

7. 6
Raising an Only Child
**Teach your child social skills
Only children don't have the benefit of the ins-and-
outs of sibling relationships. Sibling rivalry can
actually be chance to get along with peers on a
daily basis. Parents should show their children how
to share and compromise, as if they had a sibling
to share and interact with.

8. 7
Raising an Only Child
**Foster your child's independence**
Since only children develop such a close
relationship with their parents, they often become
too reliant on them (and vice versa for the parent,
in some cases).

9. 8
Raising an Only Child
**Foster your child's independence**
A parent can counter the dependency by giving her
child some responsibility- like the laundry, for
example. An only child also needs to learn how to
occupy himself -- the parent doesn't always have
to be the entertainer.
**Don't ask for perfection**

10. 9
Raising an Only Child
**Foster your child's independence**
For most only children, perfectionism seems to go
with the territory. Only children want to please
their parents, and because they often interact
better with adults, they take on adult standards.
While it's fine to want the best for your child, it's
important not to make your goals and anxieties
his.

11. 10
Raising an Only Child
**Foster your child's independence**
Since onlies often receive parental approval for
almost anything, parents need to explain that their
love is not based on the child's performance, but
rather on the child herself.