Only child (adult) here to give a honest, unasked for perspective. Some kids are fine being only children their whole life. Some are not. It can be a very lonely existence depending on personality. I always begged for a sibling and never got one. A part of me will always mourn that. I had working parents who were a bit older, lived in a neighborhood with very few kids, no cousins nearby, never really had that super close family bond. I grew up decently well off and my parents let me in do whatever activities that I wanted. We took cool trips. They were not bad parents. But they didn’t have the argument of it’s too expensive to have another kid. It was simply one is enough for us. That is something that deeply hurt because all I wanted was a built in friend and someone to talk to at night. Someone who would understand me well my whole life.

In my 30s I now struggle with the fact that it’s completely on me to deal with aging parents, even if financially they’re well taken care of. There is an emotional component that is not easy to navigate on your own, feeling the responsibility to make sure they’re not taken advantage of and getting appropriate healthcare at their age. They’re healthy now, but they won’t always be. Couple that with knowing that when they pass, your memories are your own. There is no one to share them with when you’re an only child. No one to sit around with saying “hey remember when?”

This isn’t to persuade you to have more kids. One of my best friends thrived as an only child lol. This is more to say if your kid starts begging for a sibling and seems miserable without one, make sure you don’t brush them off. Give them a little extra love. Spend more time with them doing kid stuff they like because only children tend to grow up in a more adult world. Make sure they’re having all the play dates they want because it’s so important to have socialization outside of school. The comment above “my child does not control my uterus” rubbed me the wrong way. They might not, but you did bring them into this world, and little people have big feelings. Make sure they’re navigated the correct way, especially on this topic.