Imagine waking up on Christmas morning and not having any siblings to share in your excitement for the day. Imagine not having to “rock paper scissors” for the last slice of pizza. Imagine getting up to go to the bathroom and returning to find your favorite seat still open and waiting for you. Imagine never having to compromise on what you want for dinner.
Ah, the elusive life of an only child. Of course, 20% of people in the world know exactly what it’s like to grow up without siblings. But for those of us who grew up wearing hand-me-downs and squeezing into the dreaded middle car seat, there are some dead giveaways that someone else was an only child. Reddit users have recently been discussing these traits, so you’ll find some of their most spot on responses below, as well as some thoughts from only children on what makes them unique!
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I told my bf to close his eyes and open his mouth(I was surprising him with candy), and he just did it with no suspicion at all.
People with siblings can’t trust like that.
I can't tell for adults, but when it's one of my kids' friends, the kid who ends up trying to hang out with the adults and gets overwhelmed by being in a group of kids has been an only child 100% of the time in my experience.
From my own experience, not being as prone to loneliness. The only time I really feel lonely is when I'm around people I'd rather not be with.
Exactly. The thought of being lonely with yourself is not a known feeling.
Thinking friendship is like having siblings. Its not. I would never smash a toy on my friend's head and expect them to speak to me after.
Pretty good at keeping ourselves entertained or doing things alone/being independent.
I'm exactly like this - middle child of 3 girls. Sometimes people just enjoy their own company.
Only child here. As a kid, I couldn’t relate to other children. Their behavior was completely foreign to me. Even now that I’m old, most people seem odd.
I tended to find other kids immature, because I was more used to adult company.
They can get s**t done without asking for help. Example- I’ve had people calling me to assist them in making the bed because they needed somebody to hold the other corner of the sheet?? Dude, this is not a 2 people job! I was doing something else and you require assistance with a piece of cotton?
Same goes for putting together furniture. ‘Takes 2 people to assemble’ . Sure. It takes 2 people to assemble unless they are an only child, then it just takes the one.
On a more positive note… from personal experience, being secure with doing things alone
I am an only child… I’ve noticed I tend to make a lot of life choices on my own and don’t seek out a lot of advice or ask for help when I could definitely use it. In fact, I’ve been pretty deep in tough situations when I finally have the realization that there are people and resources I can utilize. It’s not so much I’m worried about asking for help, more like it doesn’t even register in my brain that there is help outside of myself.
When they get [mad] that things aren't done the way they think it should be done because they've never had to compromise with anyone before.
This I don't relate to. It was always my mom's way or the highway. She still tries to get a leverage over me. Crazy thing is she's not an only child.
I’m an only child. One huge difference I see time and time again with those who have siblings—they had much more exposure to a longer timespan of media/music/games growing up. My idea of nostalgia consists of my specific timeline of media growing up, but those with siblings were able to watch tv shows their older brother watched, or knows about that game their little sister played.
True never would have listened to punk rock or heavy metal without a brother. Probably never would have read Steven King without a sister.
Wishing they had siblings.
Someone with siblings probably wishes they were an only child.
My husband HATES sharing food!
He is also very good at keeping himself entertained and busy- this was very evident during Covid when I was soooo bored and lost because all my previous hobbies and pastimes were outside the home and/or social activities, however, he just kept going and picked up so many new little hobbies that were independent
I love sharing food. I enjoy eating alone, but there's always enough to give to someone else. I love to spend all day in the kitchen cooking for a giant party. People come in and spend a few minutes with me then move on. In the end I've had my pseudo-solitary culinary experience while beneath the guise of being social. Then everyone gets to eat while I watch them enjoy. So satisfying!
For me, it's when someone has no idea what non-food items taste like (dog treats, shaving cream, etc.)
Ah, but that one time I really wanted to know why dogs like their biscuits and why some people ate cat food. Not really that disgusting. Not really a go-to snack.
I hate being an only child as an adult. I don't really care that I was a main focus when I was a kid. If I don't have a partner I'm basically f****d emotionally and have no support when my parents inevitably become ill.
I heard once that only children are less likely to announce where they are going when they leave a room. Right away, I realized I'm like that, but my partner, who grew up with two sisters, tells me where he's about to go when he moves, even if it's to the bathroom.
From personal experience, food habits. Like buying snacks to store at home and fully expecting them to not have been touched when you’re gone, or eating slower at the dinner table because you’re not fighting over the good food.
As a teen, on the rare occasion my dad would steal a snack I got for myself I’d freak out, whereas my friends with siblings just resigned themselves to the fate of snacks inevitably disappearing. My mom eats super fast at meals, and she attributes it largely to growing up with siblings.
My sister and I would lick our favourite items of food on our plates, so the other couldn't steal it. Even today we say "I've licked that" to signify something is ours. although now we are only joking, back then it was deeply serious method of germ warfare against each other.
No tales of sibling violence
Ha, I can relate to this one! When fighting with my brother, things could escalate quickly. We‘d use whatever was laying around to beat each other up. 😂 So my parents made sure to always put the garden equipment (I.e. shovels, brooms) away in the garden shack. Playing knights could quickly turn into a more violent game and a true fight. (Mind you, that was growing up in the early 80ies) On the other hand, whenever we‘d get scolded we would stick together and stand up for each other. I miss my Brother. ❤️
They are very deliberate in their chosen relationships, e.g. friendships, partners, and are usually extremely independent, at least in my experience.
They’re very quiet roommates in my experience. Sometimes don’t even know when they’re home. I hypothesize that they’re just used to quiet spaces and might feel uncomfortable when their surroundings get loud or chaotic. People with siblings are used to other people clanging around and making noise.
They need more alone time and aren’t scared of being home by themselves.
When they’re planning to go somewhere or do something, they don’t tell anyone or announce it. They just go do it.
As adults, they tend to live alone rather than with roommates, if circumstances allow it.
If their parents are either super young or super old compared to their peers’ parents, it’s more likely they’re the only kid.
I’m an only child. I hate sharing. If you wanted some cake, order yours do not eat my cake. Yes, I’m spoiled so what? I will not borrow your things if I can just buy my own. I don’t understand other people (who has siblings) who will ask to borrow and not return my things. It’s called stealing.
The two times I let people borrow things I didn't get them back, so yeah borrowing is a no.
They feel the weight of both their parents' hopes and dreams as well as their needs. If you're an only child who grew up in a loving home, chances are you also had a lot of responsibility to make something out of all the time and resources your parents put into you.
This is weirdly true, my mother who raised me alone mostly, had this idea that because I was talented in various areas that I would some how become a millionaire and save her. She never forgave me for being a regular person.
Always weirds me out when people have games, consoles, collectibles, etc from their childhood. All of my stuff was either handed down to, broken, or lost by siblings.
There's still an ongoing, if good-natured, feud between two of my sons (38 and 33) about which one of them is the legitimate owner of one particular console...
I’m an only child, my husband is the oldest of 3.
For myself I can say that I have a hard time asking for help and try to be as independent as possible which doesn’t always work to my advantage.
I definitely was around more adults than kids growing up which meant my children were literally the first babies I had ever been around.
For some reason all of my friends (and husband included) eat way faster than me and they like to point that out.
I thrive in my alone time and need a lot of it to “recharge”. But I also hate that I constantly feel lonely even in large groups of people and have never been able to shake that feeling.
I have horrible anxiety about meeting new people, I’ll do it but I’ll almost make myself sick leading up to it because my anxiety gets to out of control.
Being a people pleaser is definitely up there and wanting to feel included.
I have a sibling yet I do a lot of this stuff (excluding having babies of course)
My bf is an only child and it was his confusion at how I can be mad at my sister (who is also my roommate) one minute and turn around and get ice cream or go see a movie together.
He grew up with a bunch of cousins around his age, but it was the quick turnaround of “I’m so mad at you” to “I wanna hang out, let’s do something.”
A really strong bond with their parents.
I have a brother, but only dated only child women troughout my life, and i noticed that they're tend to be way more "friends" with their parents than siblings does.
It's like my brother were always my partne during childhood/adolescence and to my ex gf, it was her dad or mom.
As an only child I’ve been yelled at by multiple friends for wandering off alone, especially in grocery stores, without telling anyone where I’m going. And also my automatic “backseat of a car” position is legs out across the seats. Idk tho those are the only differences I ever notice
Very specific and got me thinking. This is probably also why I never found anything alluring about taking a class skiing trips, being surrounded by jerks who would make the whole trip Hell for me, while having to buddy up with someone and deal with that power struggle, and conform to strict curfews and limitations on privacy. No thank you.
Really unique relationships with parents. They usually have a very rigid idea and perception their parents. For example, I have to call my mom every day or else she’ll worry, or my dad is always right about _____. I guess when you have siblings there’s more diversity in how you perceive your parents and their actions. But with only children they seem to lack that holistic perspective.
If he keeps getting calls asking him about his whereabouts when he is out
That's an introvert vs extrovert list. This has nothing to do with siblings or not.
I am naturally an extrovert. If it wasn't due to me being an only child I would never have NY introverted habits
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Most of these examples are silly, I'm one of 3 sisters and nearly all of these I can relate to.
Me too..and one of 3 sisters. I always want my privacy, love being alone, have lots of treasures saved from childhood
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That's an introvert vs extrovert list. This has nothing to do with siblings or not.
I am naturally an extrovert. If it wasn't due to me being an only child I would never have NY introverted habits
Load More Replies... Most of these examples are silly, I'm one of 3 sisters and nearly all of these I can relate to.
Me too..and one of 3 sisters. I always want my privacy, love being alone, have lots of treasures saved from childhood
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