🚀 go-pugleaf

cindy@nvg.unit.no (Cindy Kandolf) wrote:

 >If parenthood really were so miserable, every child would be an only
 >child.

Being the parent of an only child, I dislike that attitude.  I hear it a lot.
Whenever I tell anyone that we're not going to have another child, I always
feel the need to add that it isn't because we don't like parenting, or that
he was a difficult child.  It's almost the exact opposite.  We love being
parents, and wish to keep it that way!  And Ryan was such a *good* baby!  He
never had colic, he is extremely intelligent, he is polite, beautiful,
healthy, happy... What more could we want?  We would hate to have another
child that might feel s/he had to live up to his/her big brother's standards.
Of course we would try to make sure that didn't happen, by encouraging
whatever strengths the next child might have, but what if s/he wasn't as
bright, or wasn't as popular, etc... We might feel the need to downplay
Ryan's successes for fear of hurting the second child.  Then *his*
self-esteem might suffer.  There are just too many things that might go
wrong.  Granted they might not, but unless I have that "I'm going to die if I
don't have a child" feeling again, I think it best that we stick with just
one.  Someone will send a message if a second child was meant to be. :-)
 


Valerie
rvr@netrail.net