MEET THE PRESS. AN ONLY CHILD IS A HAPPY CHILD. THE OBSERVER.

Hi my dear friends. We are going to  speak today about "the only child" because many of you are, for sure,  "only children" in your family and in many occasions there is some controversy about this. We will see what the press and the research say. 

Hola mis queridos amigos. Vamos a hablar hoy sobre "el hijo único" porque muchos de vosotros seguramente sois "hijos únicos" en vuestra familia y  en muchas ocasiones hay controversia sobre esto. Veremos lo que dice la prensa y las investigaciones.

Info: Speak Up magazine.

Photos: Forbes.Ecuador  /  Lamenteesmaravillosa/  Ethic  /  DepositPhotos  /  Infobae

AN ONLY CHILD IS A HAPPY CHILD, SAYS RESEARCH.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Natalie Portman once said: "I would never have been an actress if I hadn't been an only child, because my parents would never have let me be the star of the family at the expense of another child."  It turns out that, in terms of the advantages of life without brothers and sisters, she was onto something.

One of the widest-ranging research projects on family life conducted in Britain has revealed that the fewer siblings children have, the happier they are -and that only children are the most contented.

BULLIES

The findings, shared exclusively with The Observer, suggest that "sibling bullying" could be part of the problem, with 31% of children saying they are hit, kicked or pushed by a brother or sister "quite a lot" or "a lot".  Others complain that siblings steal their personal belongings and call them hurtful names.

The figures are the first to emerge from Understanding Society, a study tracking the lives of 100,000 people in 40,000 British households.

On children and happiness, it finds that:

*Seven out of 10 British teenagers are "very satisfied" with their lives.

*Children from ethnic minorities are on average happier than their white British counterparts.

*Happiness declines the more siblings there are in a household.

INSULTS

The findings are based on indepth questionnaires completed by 2,500 young people.  The questionnaires were analysed by Gundi Knies from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex where the Understanding Society study is based. She suggested factors such as competition for the parents' attention or the fact that toys, sweets or space need to be shared.  Knies also pointed to other data within the study on sibling bullying: 29,5% of teenagers complain that brothers or sisters call them "nasty" names "quite a lot" or "a lot", while 17,6% say their personal belongings are taken away from them.

STRESS

Professor Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick, who carried out the work on tensions between brothers and sisters, said: "More than half of all siblings (54%) were involved in bullying in one form or the other."  Although there is also evidence that indicates that siblings sometimes support each other, he warned that children who faced bullying both at home and in the playground were particularly vulnearable to behaviour problems and unhappiness.

Wolke did not study the impact of such tensions on parents, but added: "From annecdotal reports, quarrelling siblings increase stress for parents and some just give up intervening.  Others intervene inconsistently, leaving the field wide open for the bully sibling."

REFEREES

Siobhan Freegard, the co-founder of the website Netmums, who has three children, said that many mothers felt like "referees" after their children reached a certain age and started quarrelling with their brothers and sisters.

She questioned whether the findings on happiness were linked to the fact that children were desperate for parental attention. "With three children, it is three lots of dinner, three lots of washing, three lots of driving to after-school activies, so you do get less time for each.  I like to think they are getting benefits in other ways," said Freegard.

She said the findings would come as a relief to the parents of only children who often felt guilty about the lack of brothers and sisters.

SOCIABLE

Freegard discussed the issue recently with her friend Tanya Honey, who has one child, a daughter.  Honey admitted that her daughter, Gemma, seven, recently wrote "a baby" on her shopping list.  "But friends always point out that she is a really happy child.  When we go on holiday she is brilliant at making friends and if there was a brother or sister perhaps she wouldn't be, because she would rely on them", added Honey.

While the findings seem surprising, experts say there are clear reasons why more siblings could reduce happiness.  Dr Ruth Coppard, a child psychologist, said: "In an average home the more children, the less privacy for each child. Some love sharing a bedroom with a sibling but they would rather choose to do it that have to do it.  There is competition for parental time".

PERSONAL SPACE

Parentline Plus, a charity that offers support to parents, regularly receives calls about sibling rivalry. "Families do report concerns regarding high levels of conflict among siblings and the stress that this can cause, but the important thing is to try to help and support families find more effective ways of dealing with this problem,"  said Alison Phillips, director of policy and communications.

She has several tips for parents including: ensure children have a special place for their belongings; insist they ask if they want to use something owned by a sibling, and show firmly that you do not approve of bullying behaviour.

VOCABULARY

WIDE-RANGING: amplio  /  RESEARCH PROJECT: proyecto de investigación  /  SIBLING: hermano  /  TO HIT: pegar  /  HURTFUL: ofensivo  /  HOUSEHOLD: hogar  /  ON AVERAGE: de media  /  NASTY: malo, horrible  /  TO QUARREL: pelearse  /  TO GIVE UP: rendirse  /  TO INTERVENE: interponerse  /  ISSUE: tema  /  TO RELY ON: confiar en