– Attention from my parents. This one’s pretty obvious. Because it was just me, I had both my parents’ full attention. I never had to compete for it. Perhaps if I was a more rebellious kid, this may have counted as a disadvantage. But I did enjoy having all their attention.
– Relating well to adults. Since I grew up without siblings or cousins my age, I spent a lot of time around adults. I remember sitting with my parents and their friends after dinner just listening to their conversations. This taught me how to interact with people much older than myself. When I got married, Tim noticed that I had lots of older women friends and that I would strike up conversations with people older than us with much more ease than he would.
– Independence. Not having siblings meant that I had to make decisions on my own. It also meant that I had to entertain myself and find ways to occupy myself. I ended up doing a lot of reading and drawing. I also had to problem solve on my own.
– Suited an introvert. Being an only child was great for me as an introvert. I had plenty of time to think and be by myself. I’d still have play dates with friends, but a lot of the time, I just hung out on my own, which I totally didn’t mind.
– Maturity. One of the effects of spending a lot of time with adults was that I learned early on how to think like them. In my growing up years, I would often hear the comment, “You are so mature for your age!” But maybe it was just that I learned how to sit still and not run around that made me appear more mature.