Only Child Syndrome

Only child syndrome can only effect families with fewer than two children. Recent research suggests that the disease does not actually exist. The problem occurs in more rural areas where there are less opportunities for socialization. The urban migration has caused the condition described to not occur.

Basics of Only Child Syndrome. Psychologist Ganville Stanley described the condition in 1896. He said that only children suffered from poor social skills and were less likely to do well in school. The stereotype of only children as spoiled brats originates from his work. Stanley had either forgotten his own childhood or was projecting his own feelings onto others.

Unseating of Only Child Syndrome. Stanley wrote his work well after the start of the Industrial Revolution. In a few years he might have argued with Henry Ford about the colors the Model T came in. Although the urban migration was in full swing, many people still lived on farms. Multiple children helped with tasks and the older children shared in the care of younger children with their parents.

Modern Theories on Only Child Syndrome. Urban migration has been replaced with suburban migration in recent years. New research has shown that only children have the same amount of friends on average as families with multiple children. United States childbirth trends show people having fewer children. One modern trend shows that children are more likely to learn their social skills in daycares with other children.

Benefits of Being an only child. Although psychologists no longer respect the idea of Only Child Syndrome, they still study children to tack their progress. Only children enjoy a slight educational advantage than children do in multiple families. The more children a family has, the poorer the younger children perform scholastically. Nothing stops people from larger families resenting having their clothes down to them or having to share resources with their siblings, however.