The Dead Giveaways That Someone Is An Only Child
Reddit user imlovegina asked: 'What is a dead giveaway that someone is an only child?'
A lot has been written about birth order among siblings and how it affects personality.
Not that everyone agrees on the effects.
Some say the oldest is the family rebel, while others say they're the ultimate conformist and rule follower.
Others assign those roles to the middle child.
But pretty much everyone agrees the youngest child is spoiled.
So does that mean an only child takes all those dynamics to form their personality?
The folks of Reddit sure has some thoughts on the matter.
Reddit user imlovegina asked:
"What is a dead giveaway that someone is an only child?"
Trust
"I told my boyfriend to close his eyes and open his mouth (I was surprising him with candy) and he just did it with no suspicion at all."
"People with siblings can’t trust like that."
- cowsofoblivion
Limited Pop Culture
"I’m an only child. One huge difference I see time and time again with those who have siblings—they had much more exposure to a longer timespan of media/music/games growing up. My idea of nostalgia consists of my specific timeline of media growing up, but those with siblings were able to watch tv shows their older brother watched, or knows about that game their little sister played."
- DopeYeti
"Yeah, the media you get is what your parents get for you. So PS2 was my only console since I requested one for my birthday and that's really it. Bigger families might have older siblings have older consoles, media, movies etc."
- Top_Lengthy
No "I'm Going to the Bathroom"
"I heard once only children are less likely to announce where they are going when they leave a room. Right away I realised I do that, but my partner who grew up with 2 sisters tells me where he’s about to go when he moves, even if it’s to the bathroom."
- NucularOrchid
"Now that im in my 30s I’ve trained myself to say where I’m going when I leave a room but it STILL feels so awkward when I do it."
"I also distinctly remember being confused in my first few relationships when people told me they were going to the restroom (okay?) and irritated when I would get up to go and they’d ask me where I’m going (like, we’re in a 1 b/r apartment and I’m not walking out the door, there are only so many options.)"
Anger is Fleeting
"My bf is an only child and it was his confusion at how I can be mad at my sister (who is also my roommate) one minute and turn around and get ice cream or go see a movie together."
He grew up with a bunch of cousins around his age, but it was the quick turnaround of 'I’m so mad at you' to 'I wanna hang out, let’s do something.'"
- sister-christian69
"Hypothesis: I think we don’t have practice of dealing with conflict. I had an argument with someone a few years back and I fully expected it to be awkward between us when we saw each other the next day, but she (not an only child) started chatting with me like everything was fine. I was taken aback and thought this would have lasted for much longer."
- RaspberryTurtle987
My Food is Mine
"My husband HATES sharing food! He is also very good at keeping himself entertained and busy- this was very evident during Covid when I was soooo bored and lost because all my previous hobbies and pastimes were outside the home and/or social activities, however, he just kept going and picked up so many new little hobbies that were independent"
- badjmsbe
"I have a brother and I hate sharing food as well. Some people say that having siblings can teach you to share things but, if anything, having a brother made me extra selfish."
- reforged-demon-blade
"I don’t hate sharing food…but I order food for me + me later fully expecting what I ordered to be there and my gf usually takes some. Drives me insane lol, and she knows if f**ks with my ADHD bc I will stare at the fridge thinking wait, when did I eat that?! Her after wondering what Im looking for: Sorry babe, I ate it."
- huhteeee
Siblings ≠Friends
"Thinking friendship is like having siblings. It's not. I would never smash a toy on my friend's head and expect them to speak to me after."
- Useful_Jello2910
"I wouldn’t have teamed up with my best friends against their parents or refused to listen to their parents… but me and my sister? Like a two-man army in us vs. our parents battle"
- aw-f*ck
"Yep. Whenever my siblings and I would unionize, we were unstoppable."
- KitchenSwillForPigs
Not Expecting Snack Theft
"From personal experience, food habits. Like buying snacks to store at home and fully expecting them to not have been touched when you’re gone, or eating slower at the dinner table because you’re not fighting over the good food."
"As a teen, on the rare occasion my dad would steal a snack I got for myself I’d freak out, whereas my friends with siblings just resigned themselves to the fate of snacks inevitably disappearing. My mom eats super fast at meals, and she attributes it largely to growing up with siblings."
- HornedTwiddle
"I think this is why I get so peeved when my 14 year old eats all of something I specifically bought because I wanted it. I’ll share with him, but he’s a garbage disposal and will pound an entire bag/box/pack of something in no time, and I get so annoyed. My husband thinks I’m ridiculous but I never had to share or worry about someone else eating my things growing up haha"
- pizzainertia
Doesn't Automatically Shield Face
"No tales of sibling violence"
- ButterEmails54
"Doesn't flinch when someone makes a fist quickly"
- islandsimian
"Yesssss my boyfriend doesn't understand (not that he makes fist at me!!! Just that I flinch a lot.). Also don't throw things at me expecting me to catch it - my instinct is to shield my face."
- Bacon_Bitz
"Oh my god yes. Youngest child here, I also have twelve older cousins, and the amount of things I got thrown at me when I was too little to catch them."
- Dependent_Shower_584
Good At Self Entertaining
"Pretty good at keeping ourselves entertained or doing things alone/being independent."
- stefeezy
"And I find that most of us need alone time. I can be pretty sociable but it can get overwhelming quick. I need alone time every day or my stress levels rise to a point where I can't handle it. Even in a relationship, if we spend all day home, I must be able to do my thing while he does his thing. This has caused me issues in the past, as if I didn't care to be around my partner."
- thinksotoo
"Yup, this is one of the main ones. We are not lonely either, we enjoy our solitude (at least I do)"
- AlwaysSunnyDragRace
Better With Adults
"I can't tell for adults, but when it's one of my kids' friends, the kid who ends up trying to hang out with the adults and gets overwhelmed by being in a group of kids has been an only child 100% of the time in my experience."
- ifnotmewh0
"Yes! I teach middle school, and I can usually spot the only kids by seeing which students gravitate towards chatting with me rather than their peers during downtime. They seem more comfortable and confident just hanging out with the older person in the room."
- catsandcabsav
"I was one of these kids. I knew the adults didn't want me around. I had to choose between two uncomfortable situations, and I could handle being in the way more than the chaos with the other kids."
- needhelpweverything
Less Lonely
"From my own experience, not being as prone to loneliness. The only time I really feel lonely is when I'm around people I'd rather not be with."
- DeathSpiral321
"You can very quickly detect when you don’t fit in or are a third wheel too. Kind of sucks but it means you don’t waste your time with people either."
- Grimvold
"Exactly. My GF and I are only children. We both need a few nights a week on our own which is why we don’t live together. Even when we’re together we can sit quietly doing our own thing for considerable periods of time until we have something important to discuss."
- bjb13
Make Their Own Decisions
"I am an only child… I’ve noticed I tend to make a lot of life choices on my own and don’t seek out a lot of advice or ask for help when I could definitely use it. In fact, I’ve been pretty deep in tough situations when I finally have the realization that there are people and resources I can utilize. It’s not so much I’m worried about asking for help, more like it doesn’t even register in my brain that there is help outside of myself."
- Jaded_Syrup2454
"The inherent guilt of troubling people and asking for help."
- Lycan_Trophy
"I feel called out lol. Only child and this is such a common complaint I receive from my friends and partners, them saying I should ask for help for often. My logic is, well I have to learn it alone anyway. Their logic is, you don't have to right now."
"It's not something I can just turn off ... but I'm working on it. Some times. When I feel safe being vulnerable lol"
- MoodyBootyBoots
Choose Relationships Carefully
"They are very deliberate in their chosen relationships, e.g. friendships, partners, and are usually extremely independent, at least in my experience."
- ffffffffck
"As an only child I have to agree with the deliberation in my relationships."
"I've never used the term "friend" lightly like many people seem to. I see people all the time call others friends when they don't know much about the person and are just friendLY with them. I don't consider someone a friend until we've grown closer and I feel I can genuinely trust them and we can go to each other for help"
- Skeletor118
Quiet Roommates
"They’re very quiet roommates in my experience. Sometimes don’t even know when they’re home. I hypothesize that they’re just used to quiet spaces and might feel uncomfortable when their surroundings get loud or chaotic. People with siblings are used to other people clanging around and making noise."
- IcyConsideration4714
"Yeah I'm an only child of a single mom and spend enormous amounts of time home alone as a child. Can confirm, I'm extremely quiet."
- Yak-F*cker-5000
Unique Parent Relationships
"Really unique relationships with parents. They usually have a very rigid idea and perception their parents. For example, I have to call my mom every day or else she’ll worry, or my dad is always right about _____. I guess when you have siblings there’s more diversity in how you perceive your parents and their actions. But with only children they seem to lack that holistic perspective."
- ninaw11
"My ex was was exactly like the first example! She'd call her mom every morning and would talk a lot every day. It was pretty wholesome to me."
- RaimiKu
"This specifically. I live in a different continent than my parents and we talk every single day. They still ask for my opinion on every decision we take as a family and that has been my family dynamics as long as I can remember."
What trends have you noticed among the only-children you know?
People Break Down The Best Examples Of The Real World Catching Up With A Spoiled Kid
Some children get everything handed to them on a silver platter by their parents.
Resulting in their spending their living life without a care in the world, and seemingly zero consequences, and more often than not, full of entitlement.
Some might call these children the luckiest in the world?
But are they?
After all, most of these parents will eventually cut their children off when it's time to enter the real world.
Resulting in their being faced with a cold, hard dose of reality they were not prepared for.
"What was the best moment you've seen where the real world hit a spoiled rich kid?"
It Will Get Replaced, Right?
"Knew a rich kid whose parent's bought him a car and he treated it like absolute garbage."
"Purposely driving it really hard and generally abusing it, confident in the notion that his parents would buy him the one he wanted after he destroyed the one they got him."
"Well they didn't buy him another one, ever."
"He rode the city bus and bummed rides off of friends after that."
"He was the most entitled f*cker I'd ever met."
"If he was over at your house he would just help himself to whatever was in the fridge like it was some sort of paid buffet."- Ajj360
Some People Think They're So Special
"I saw Justin Bieber throw a sh*t fit and end up not getting what he wanted."
"We have quarterly team building exercises at my company where you basically go and play mini golf or some other activity capped at $25/person."
"Sometime between 2009 and 2011, I really can't remember exactly, my group just decided to go for a fancy lunch in Downtown Portland."
"After lunch we took one of our coworkers to the semi-famous Nike store which was a couple of blocks away and that was the day Justin Bieber happened to show up."
"When he and his entourage arrived he said something somewhat loudly along the lines of 'Y'all are going to have to leave for a bit 'cause I'm here to do some shopping' and some of his people acted like they were going to try and politely force the already-present customers out of the store so Bieber could shop alone."
"But the Nike employees even more politely told him that was not possible."
"At that point Bieber lost it-I mean he threw a total tantrum because they wouldn't shut down the store for him."
"The tantrum didn't work and he and his folks left in a huff."
"That's really my only 'celebrity in the wild' encounter and it's freaking lame."- Oakwood2317
excited justin bieber GIFGiphyIt's Not Attractive To Gloat
"Spoiled rich kid showed up to school in a $325,000 sports car."
"He was showing off, lost control of the car, and drove it through a brick wall and totalled it."- Galemianah
Think Pink, Or See Red!
"Dad buys a rich kid a Mercedes."
"It was pinkish, salmon colored, so the kid b*tched about it."
"Dad took to away, sold it, and never bought him another car."
"Rich brat had to buy his own."- BrilliantWeb
Blame Game...
"Saw a college guy with a ridiculously expensive car, can't remember the model, rear-end this woman who drove an absolute beater."
"Her car was definitely totalled and his wasn't looking that hot either."
"He got out and started screaming at this woman."
"She was in tears."
"He kept telling her that she was going to pay for this."
"When the cops came, I saw each of them give their statements."
"After that, me and like 10 people came forward and gave our witness statements."
"It sounded like each and every one of us put complete fault on him, which was the truth."
"When the cops went back to him, I saw his face just sink."
"He probably told them it was her fault and just found out that two handfuls of people just confirmed that he's full of sh*t."
"I've never seen that many witnesses stick around for a simple traffic accident."
"I think the other people felt the same way I did."
"That kid was a douche and should be punished for what he did."- the_planes_walker
car slamming GIFGiphySome People Actually Hear The Wake Up Calls!
"One of my college roommates was very rich growing up."
"I didn't realized just how rich until I had to explain to her what a coupon was in very extensive detail."
"On multiple occasions she bragged that she wasn't even interested in her major, philosophy, or college in general, but she was at uni because her parents were requiring her to get a degree, any degree, in order to get access to her trust fund."
"I don't remember ever seeing her go to class and she eventually got expelled sophomore year over academic dishonesty."
"I guess this was the last straw for her parents because they cut her off pretty soon after that."
"This actually served as a wake up call."
"She somehow managed to get a public health degree at a different school in spite of the academic dishonesty listed on her transcript."
"She's doing pretty well for herself these days."
"We've kept in touch and last we talked she was considering grad school."- __justbecause
Schadenfreude, or happiness at the misfortune of others, is never kind.
That being said, it's hard not to smile when people who shamelessly flaunt their wealth and privilege suddenly find themselves a creek without a paddle.
Hopefully, this will teach them to make some necessary changes to their lifestyle.
Though, one can only hope that their parents, who enabled this behavior, also learned a valuable lesson.
Passive revenge is the best medicine for bullying.
Passive revenge is when you sit back and let the world take its course. And the people who deserve it--it usually happens to them. And when it does, it's ohhhhh so satisfying.
u/GregTheGreat657 asked:
When have you seen the real world hit a spoiled brat?
Here were some of those answers.
Mommy Can't Protect You Forever
When the high school principals daughter who previously got away with all kinds of garbage behavior ( vandalism, dinking, major. bullying ) got caught vandalizing a lecture hall in uni she was unceremoniously dumped and banned. Parents whined for months on fb about their poor baby's unfair treatment and the fact that her applications to other uni's were being denied.
That's So Many Dollars
Spending $50 on food a day is not normal. College girl got cut off from her parents (drinking and not going to class) and had to get a job. She put on Facebook about how she's gonna go hungry and needs money. People offered her food and to make her dinner. She said "that's okay I just need about $40 to get through the day I don't like to grocery shop".
Ah Yes Here's The Racism (But Happy Ending)
I was a school bus driver in the 70s. During height of court ordered busing, so I ferried poor kids to the rich side of town, then rich kids the other way. Lots of entitled brats but one stands out. Super entitled kid, constantly defying rules. Eventually I caught him (with too many witnesses) attempting to set a bus seat on fire with his lighter. School officials were called.
Hearing with officials and rich dad -- and he's banned from all buses rest of semester. Dad offers to pay for the damage and quietly accepts the punishment. Then comes the surprise.
Next morning when I arrive at 6:00 am to clean my bus (regular task every morning), rich kid and Dad are standing there. Dad introduces me to my "new personal bus cleaner" for the rest of the year. He brings kid every morning and forces him to wash and clean the floors on my bus before taking him on to his school. By end of year, entitled kid is actually working hard, and being friendly. We're getting along pretty well and I help him out sometimes so he can get on to school. Kid turns out OK when all is over.
Good move by his Dad.
Went Expat To Be Homeless
My ex best friend was raised spoiled. His family wasn't very rich but they still always tried their best to get him everything he asked for and never taught him to take responsibility for his mistakes. Ill write a list of the things he pulled after leaving school.
- got three strikes on his license and lost it by
- running a red light (wasn't his fault because there weren't many cars around) -speeding through a school zone (wasn't his fault because there were no kids around even though he was going so fast that he would have been breaking the limit if the school zone limit wasn't in place -getting pulled over and one of his passengers wasn't wearing a seatbelt (was his fault for not wearing it)
- quit his job because he wanted more time to skate. Did this by going to his exes and sleeping with her instead of going to work then bragging about it on facebook. Centrelink refuses to pay him because he's not even trying to get a job and no place will hire him because of his track record
- assaulted a bouncer at a nightclub and then assaulted the police who tried to arrest him. Spent a week in jail for that
- moved to Melbourne then sydney and ended up being homeless for a couple years and is currently homeless in germany
Put In His Place
When I was working at a public library, we had a few local celebrities come in from time to time. Most of them were nice, but one had a real stick up his arse. He would complain about having to stand in line, and about late fees, and about everything else. We would just say "sorry, those are the rules" or "thank you for being patient" even though he wasn't.
One day, he and I were apparently both having a bad day, and when I told him there was a limit on how many DVDs or video games he could check out at a time, he slammed his hands on the desk and raged, "Do you know who I am?!" This is a grown man, mind, I was a little college student who barely looked old enough to drive. I was sick of his low-key bullying, so I just looked at him and said, "Yes, I do, Mr. X, and the rules still apply to you. Which of these would you like me to put back?"
He was stunned. I don't think anyone had ever actually told him that the rules for everyone else did in fact apply to him as well. He was a little nicer after that. Not a lot nicer, but still.
Took Him Down A Peg
Back in engineering school, one of my classmates was the son of one of our professors. Now, this professor was a really nice dude. He paid attention to his students, his classes were fun and he rarely failed anyone. His son, on the other hand, was a total jerk. Rude and nasty and would always brag about how his dad was a highly senior professor with tenure. "You know who my dad is, right?" Was literally his catch phrase. He wasn't even a good student. We rank GPA's out of 10 and he was a 4.
This professor actually taught a very specialized course so we only had about 2 courses from him in our entire time at the school. This course in our 5th semester was a bit complicated. If you didn't do regular study, it was easy to fail but if you practiced the stuff, passing it was a breeze.
So finals come around and Son is out there bragging that he didn't need to study because his dad will pass him anyway. He took this confidence all the way to the exam hall. And then the results were out. He had scored 7 out of 100. We know because the professor called us all to the classroom and displayed his answer sheet on the projector. According to him, he was the third student who had failed in his 20 year teaching career and he couldn't be more disappointed that it was his son. The amount of verbal @$ whooping Son received was enough to have him quivering like a wet cat in front of everyone.
The next time he pulled the "Do you know my dad?" Card, the standard answer he received was," The one who failed you?"
He stopped pretty soon after that.
He retook the exam the following year, failed again and had to drop out.
Wherever he is today, I hope he learnt his lesson.
Not Fostering That Behavior
When my brother was in school he was horrifically bullied for being autistic. And his bully was the most entitled little jerk I've ever had the displeasure of meeting.
His father paid for boxing practice, karate lessons, and other martial arts. This made him think that he was the best at anything physical.
My brother isn't overly fond of sports, and prefers to read in the library.
As the typical nerdy kid, he's a prime target for bullies.
One day when the bully had cornered my brother up against a wall, my brother finally decided that he wasn't just going to take it any more. But he strongly dislikes violence, and thus would not be fighting back.
Instead, when the bully tried to punch him... my brother ducked.
3 broken fingers and a trip to the hospital later, the Bully's father finds out what had been happening. All his extra classes/training were cancelled, he had all of his electronics and games sold, and if he wanted to have a car, he would have to work for every penny himself.
No Sea-Legs
One of my favorite things about the military is that in a uniform, nobody can tell how privileged or unprivileged you might have been. It's a total blank slate, and for many, it's humbling to not get to/have to wear your social status on your sleeve.
On my second ship, there was an E2 who grew up very wealthy, and was a jerk about it- he wasn't afraid to let us know. He thought that he was better than his peers. There's a stereotype of the enlisted guy who "thinks of himself as an officer" as a way to pretend that means anything. That's this guy in every way and he would try to get out of "enlisted work" because he was going to be an officer, probably even a commanding officer of a ship.
So there we were, a few hours into his first deployment and this motherf*cker gets violently seasick. It lasted for days.
I don't know if you've ever been around someone who can't open their eyes without yacking, but it's awful. You really feel bad for them- it's hard to watch someone go through.
The Laundry Did Me In
I will admit that I was a bit spoiled growing up, though I didn't think I was a brat. My mom had a maid that came in several times a week.
When I went to college, several things were very different for me. I knew to clean up after myself but cleaning a bathroom was completely new.
The biggest shock was laundry. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or how. I knew I was supposed to use detergent and softener, but I thought any soap would do and didn't knew what softener was. I had no idea how or when to add them either.
Reality hit when a campus security guard came in and I asked how I much of the dish soap I was supposed to use and the man started laughing. He did help me get the right soap after and explained how to operate a washer and dryer.
Mad Fer A Paper
In the 6th grade, my teacher was this tough older Scottish woman with a very thick accent who probably led battalions in World War II. She terrified me and I adored her. One of my classmates was this snotty brat who constantly bragged that she never had to do chores or homework, and always got her parents to do her work for her.
One day, we had a book report due. The book report was supposed to be two pages, and for some reason this girl wasn't able to get her parents to do her work for her on this one occasion. She came in and turned in a book report only one sentence long.
Our teacher looked like she was about to rip this girl in half. She held up the book report and said loud enough for the entire class to hear, "ARE YE AN IDIOT?!"