The Only Child: Being One, Loving One, Understanding One, Raising One

by Darrell Sifford

Book Overview

Darrell Sifford, an only child himself, has drawn from countless case studies and interviewed a wide range of psychologists to come up with a unique picture of the only child. He asks:

What drives the only child to achieve at levels above and beyond other children?Why is it so hard for the only child to forgive and forget?Why are only children so respectful of authority?Why does it seem the only child has a bottomless need for praise?How...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060972882
• ISBN13: 9780060972882
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking

As an "only child" raising an only child, I found this book very insightful and thought provoking. It gives the parents of an only a lot of issues to think about and evaluate. If you are looking for a specific fix for a specific problem, this is not the book for you. However, if you are raising an only child and want to know what issues you need to address, this is a book for you. Also, I think that being an only makes you realize how sensitive and important the issues this author discusses are. If you're not an only child yourself, you may not be aware of how these issues will affect and define your only child.

From an only child's perspective...

I grew up as an only child as this book accurately reflects the thoughts and feelings I had growing up and now today as an adult. I found myself laughing and sometime crying because I had many of the same experiences and the author. The book was given to me by my spouse and helped me look at myself and the things that I do which may adversely affect others.

The Only Child

The author has both depth and simplicity. Many examples are used to bring even better clarity to readers. The author includes enough personal experiences to be realistic and authentic. Points of view shared include female and male ideas. One of my daughters-in-law is an only child. From this book I have gained a greater understanding of her relationships to her family of origin and her expectations of her husband and of me. I read the book with gratitude and ah-ha! moments.

Finally, I realize who I really am. And better yet, WHY.

Darrell Sifford's book "The Only Child: Being one, Loving one, Understanding one, Raising one" is magnificiant! I first read this book for personal interest and now am again reading it for a psychology project. Sifford gives an indepth, yet light-hearted, look at the lives of only children. Being an only child myself, I was able to relate to much of this book and when finished I felt more complete. This book truley gives justice to only children and both their triumphs and struggles. Not only does this book provide many self-enlightening stories, but also dedicates chapters to raising and marrying an only child. I reccomend this book to anyone who is an only child, parents an only child OR marries an only child. Sometimes the best way to understand why people are who they are is to look at them from a different light. Sifford shows that it is OK for me to be me, perfectionistic as I may be. Some say one is a lonely number but when living as an only child it may be seen as the best number of all, and Sifford proves that.