And they have a slight edge in verbal ability when they are young, though this is likely to disappear by the time they have reached their twenties. In short, an only child is little different from any other kind of child. Perhaps, evolutionarily speaking, there's a concern that shrinking family size may be linked to the survival of the race. There's probably a linguistic phenomenon, too. Helen Wilkinson is a founder member of the think tank Demos and an expert on such matters as Generation X and changing family structures.
Large families can be relatively self-sufficient and inward looking.
It was full of secrets and quite oppressive in many ways. As it happens, my daughter's social skills are already infinitely more developed than mine were at her age. Jessica is gregarious, fun-loving, able to get along with anybody and to find friends wherever we go. I don't think she's in any way psychologically damaged, though she may be surprised in later life to discover that her toothbrush doesn't foam on its own. Despite the postnatal depression, my sense of guilt and the social pressure would probably have driven me through the whole traumatic experience again in order to provide her with a sibling.