How My Life Would Be If I Didn’t Have a Sibling

Have you ever wished you didn’t have any siblings and you were the only child? Or do you wish you had more siblings? I am the youngest in my family. I have one older brother. I sometimes wonder how life would be if my brother wasn’t born! I also wonder how life would be different if I was the older brother, and he was the younger sibling instead. I realize there are pros and cons of being oldest, youngest, and the only child.

There are a billion benefits of being an older brother! If I was older than my brother, I would be bigger and stronger than him. So if I hit him, my punches will have more effect! Also, the first born is always special. Parents usually love their oldest the most because they’ve already invested many years and resources in the older child. Then when another child is born, they may not want to spend as much a second time! Another benefit of being older is having more privileges. My brother always gets better stuff than me! My mom gave my brother a Samsung phone, a smart watch, and he is always allowed to sit in the front seat of the car. When I asked for these things as well, my parents think I’m too young. Another time, we went to Walmart and I saw a Nerf gun I wanted. I was 7 at the time and my brother was 9 years old. My brother got the Nerf gun that I saw first, and I was given a baby water gun! It’s just not fair! A third benefit of being an older brother is when my brother hits me, he doesn’t get punished as often. My parents assume I probably did something wrong to deserve being hit. And they always take his side on many occasions because he’s older. People just always trust the older sibling more.

But there are disadvantages of being an older brother, too. An older brother has to set a good example and be a good role model, or else his younger brother won’t turn out good. Constantly trying to be good can definitely be stressful. I know I struggle every second to be good! My older brother has to constantly choose not to react, even when he really wants to. If I was born first, I would have to try to not yell, hit back, argue or blame. There are times when I start a fight with my brother and he chooses to ignore me because he wants to be a good role model. I respect him for all those times.

Being the younger sibling has many advantages. I think parents make a lot of mistakes with their first child. With time, parents learn from their mistakes, so they make even less mistakes with the younger kid. Also, kids who have older siblings know way more things! I think I’m a lot smarter and funnier than my classmates because I have an older brother who teaches me cool things every day.

Other benefits of being a younger brother is since I am younger, I’m perceived as innocent and always cute. I get away with things easier. Whenever I get in trouble I have a secret weapon. I pull out my “cute face.” Then my parents forgive me. I can’t possibly do any wrong! I am always innocent and cute! Whenever I feel like hitting my brother, I just do it. I always share what I’m thinking. No matter how busy my parents are, I always have to say something. And I always think they always love my company.

But there are disadvantages of being younger, too. Every time my brother and I fight or argue, my parents don’t even bother to ask any questions to understand what happened. They just start yelling at me, like it’s always my fault! One time, my brother got a bad grade on his report card and I got all A’s. I didn’t get rewarded for my perfect grades. And instead of grounding my brother, my parents grounded both of us! They think I had something to do with him not focusing at school. I feel like they always favor my older brother.

Then I imagine being the only child. There are a lot of pros of not having any siblings. My parents don’t have to split their love to more than one child. There is no competition. I get 100% of the attention. Even if I am a really bad kid, my parents have no one to compare to, so they have no choice but to always love me! I will always be the star of the family, no matter how terrible I am.

But being an only child also has disadvantages. I will be lonely with just my parents. I may feel like only my parents love me, and no one else loves me. I will miss having someone to protect me. I will miss having someone to hit, annoy, blame, and share my evil plans with.

I think my position is perfect the way it is. I would be a terrible older brother, I’ll admit this. I have no patience for someone who is slower than me, not as smart as me and always bothering me, asking a bunch of questions! I do all these annoying things as a younger brother all the time, and I have no idea how my brother can be so patient with me. And I don’t want my parents to pay attention to me all the time. That would get too intense, and I would be lonely with just my parents all the time. I am glad I have an awesome older brother who puts up with me, and I always have a fun time hanging out with him!