Page 68 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2019

KIDS only child
Is it lonely growing up as an only child? Or is it nice not having to share or having sibling rivalries? Two local, well-adjusted adults, Nancy Wilson and Aubrey Foster, look back on their childhoods and don’t feel they missed anything.
“I didn’t feel different in the least,” Wilson says. “I really don’t remember thinking about it at all because being an only child was my reality, my world, and my world was safe, secure and happy.”
She adds that one real plus for an only child in a loving, nurturing home is they tend to be the center of their parents’ universe. “That situation could be detrimental
if taken to an extreme, but the advantage is the child receives
lots of positive attention which fosters healthy self-esteem and self- confidence, which have served me
parents made sure we got along and were loving though, just like parents would be with siblings.”
Angie Fields, director of clinical services at Gulfport Behavioral Health System, says parents should not feel guilty about having only one child, but need to be aware of added responsibilities in helping them develop skills to foster success as adults.
“In my experience, one of the major difficulties only children face is a lack of experience in having to negotiate with other children in a family setting,” she said. “In other
thinking of themselves as a part of something bigger.”
Wilson didn’t feel lonely because she was fortunate to have a mother who set up play dates. “With one friend in particular, we had spend- the-day play dates. We enjoyed those days before we started school and are still best friends. One summer we even planned a week- long day camp for younger friends, complete with art, songs and games,” she said.
Foster feels the responsibilities he had set him apart from other kids, even his cousins. “Being raised
well,” she said.
Foster was close to cousins who
lived nearby. “Hunter is about the same age as me, so growing up we were like brothers. Ranger, his brother, is eight years younger; he was always the ‘kid brother’ and got on our nerves at times. Our
words, they aren’t in a position to ‘have to’ share things with siblings, compromise, or sacrifice for the good of another. As a result, they can become egocentric or self- centered, which can lead to having difficulty as adults in a work place that requires compromise and
by a farmer was tough, but it was a great upbringing and I feel I was more prepared for adulthood because of it,” he says. “Being the only child, my dad was able to raise me to be that way without splitting his attention between me and another sibling.”
68 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • April 2019
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story by Lynn Lofton
photos courtesy of Nancy Wilson and Aubrey Foster
Nancy Wilson
Aubrey Foster