Gone are those days when couples used to have many kids. Today, the trend of single children is taking over all around the world. Couples nowadays choose to have one child and give the best of everything to him/her. 

When couples make the conscious choice of having a single child, they need to make sure that they bring up the child in a certain way so that they don't find it difficult to communicate in the outside world. 

For various reasons, parenting a single child is way different from parenting multiple children. In the case of a single child, you just don't need to be their parents but also act as their siblings at times. 

You also need to make sure that you inculcate habits like sharing, communicating, and learning to socialize. All these require some extra effort to make sure they don't develop the habit of being alone all the time. 

In this article, you'll learn the ways to inculcate such habits while bringing up your single child but before getting into that, let's know what the differences that occur in a child's behaviour when being alone and why it is important to encourage the habit of sharing in a single child. 

Traits of a single child 

As a single child, the kid doesn't have a companion from the very beginning. This might make them quite reserved. Because of this, they might not open up much and enjoy being alone. In many cases, the child feels irritated or annoyed at sharing their things or may grow obsessed with personal space. They might lack the skills to socialise and adjust to different conditions. This can also be an effect of being over-pampered by parents on account of being the only kid. Many times, the child also develops the only child syndrome. Some of the traits that they develop owing to these symptoms are being bossy, more self-obsessed, antisocial, or lonely. All these traits have a negative impact on their character. 

But a right upbringing, presence, and proper supervision of parents can help avoid all such negative traits and overcome loneliness. 

Importance of inculcating social habits 

A single person usually has the habit of having everything of their own. Most of the time, parents don't leave even the smallest chance of fulfilling their child's requirements and demands. This makes them hesitant to ask for help with anything. 

Also, single children always have their own personal space which they usually don't like to get invaded by anyone. In such cases, they might lack the habit of sharing, which is a very important thing to survive in the outside world. Sharing your thoughts, and ideas, and allowing people to get close to them are vital aspects of living happily in society without the feeling of missing out. 

Parenting tips 

•   Allow independence: Always being behind your kid and making them do everything the way you want can impact your child negatively. In addition to this, always laying rules for them at every step won't let them develop individualism. They will willingly or unwillingly become accustomed to following certain instructions and will miss out on the skill of taking their own decisions in life.
•   Don't spoil them too much: Giving them everything they ask for or making all the luxuries available to them in every way spoils them. It is never expected to ignore your child's basic needs but giving them judiciously will make them value those things. Also, you might not always be available for them, so you need to make sure to teach them to survive in every situation.
•   Teach social abilities: No person can live their life alone without the presence of some friends and acquaintances. Therefore, it is important for parents to teach them social skills like communication, approaching, etc. from an early age.
•   Promote interaction: As single children, they don't have siblings to whom other children open up easily. It is important for parents to act as siblings with whom they can interact without barriers and share everything they want to. 

It is good that you've provided the best for your child in all aspects of life. But make sure you provide them with the best skills, habits, and values as well, to make them face the world with confidence and enjoy their life in all conditions.