Oscar Ávila - Only Child lyrics

{intro} Welcome to my podcast, oscar takes on. today, i’ll be talking about what it’s like to be an only child. also, at the end of this episode, please leave a review for my podcast. i really enjoy reading your reviews, and the reviews help other people find my podcast {episode} I am an only child. are you an only child too? living as an only child is different from living with brothers and sisters. i am here to talk about what it’s truly like to be an only child Only children are sometimes refеrred to as: onlys, singletons, onlyborns, onelings, and onе-offspring. these names might sound funny or cute, but, believe it or not, only-children have been subject to some negative stereotypes throughout the years. i’ll be discussing some of these stereotypes in this episode How many only-children do you know? don’t be surprised if you can count the number on one hand! that’s because, according to the census, only 22% of people are an only child in the united states. so as you can see, it’s pretty rare to be an only child. that percentage doubled since 1976, when only 11% of the population were an only child. that’s good news for those of us who are onlys! A few moments ago, you heard me mention that there are some stereotypes about only children. some of you might be wondering what a stereotype is. a stereotype is a belief about a particular category of people, and these beliefs may or may not be true. there are positive stereotypes and negative stereotypes Let’s start on a positive note: only children are sometimes described as independent at an early age. since they don’t have siblings, they must learn to do things without following in the footsteps of their brother or sister. also, many onelings are very creative since they don’t have an older sibling by their side at all times to keep them entertained. onelings may feel inspired to come up with ways to be entertained and be inventive One major benefit of being an only child is that, every now and then, you get to feel like a king—or queen. for instance, when i was a baby, there would be one parent washing my face, and then the other one was clipping my toe nails. sounds like the type of treatment you’d pay a lot of money for at a spa! it was the life! But, this type of treatment has led others to believe that onlys are spoiled, and that’s how the negative stereotypes developed over time. in addition to being spoiled, people sometimes think that onlys are selfish. since an only child doesn’t have to share things with siblings, many people assume that only children aren’t considerate and don’t know how to socialize and relate to other children properly. but that is not true in many cases. in my case, i started day care when i was only two months old, and i attended day care 5 days a week until i was in kindergarten. so, if you think about it, i’ve had to share and socialize longer than first-born children who did not attend day care. at the end of every day, my parents would get a report, and one report from when i was two years old stated the following: “oscar gave crying friend a toy.” somehow, without siblings, i understood the importance of sharing. i’m sure this is not the exception when it comes to other onlys Also, many people believe that only children are lonely because they don’t have a brother or a sister. this is definitely incorrect since only children can make friends in their schools, summer camps, and other activities. onlys can develop very close relationships with their cousins and children in their neighborhoods Onlys and first-born children have a lot in common. one thing that they have in common is that they both got to experience life as an only-child, at least for a little while. some first-borns live as onlys for years before another sibling joins the family. what i found the most interesting about onlys and first-borns is that they tend to act like mini-adults because they usually spend so much time around adults. also, both tend to be overachievers because their parents are more likely to spend time explaining every little thing to them—so, their parents expect them to thrive in many situations You might be wondering how i know so much about onlys and first-borns. well, believe it or not, some psychologists study a specific part of family life known as birth order. birth order means the order in which children were born into their family. so, you might be an only-child, a first-born, a middle child, or the last born. psychologists have tried to identify patterns in the behaviors and attitudes in these different categories, and they’ve tried to figure out if birth order makes a lasting impression on a child’s personality. if you’re curious, you can research your own birth order to find out more information. the research you find may not match your personality 100%, but it’s interesting to consider Before i end, i thought it would be fun to point out some famous only-children. here are a few names that you may have heard of: • robert de niro, an actor • leonardo dicaprio, an actor • al pacino, an actor • daniel radcliffe, the actor who played harry potter • adele, a singer and songwriter • sia, a singer and songwriter Have you heard of any people on that list? did you know that they are only children? Remember: it doesn’t matter if you're an only child or if you have siblings. families come in all sizes. what matters is that the people that surround you are good examples of decency, respect, and kindness And remember that you're not the only one if you're an only child {outro} Thank you very much for listening to this episode of oscar takes on. if you enjoyed it, subscribe to me on apple podcasts, or leave a review on apple podcasts. thanks for listening, and i’ll see you in the next episode! bye! {music}