There are 2 types of only children. The spoiled ones & the grown ones. The spoiled ones stay children whose whole world revolves around them. They have this sense of entitlement & throw fits when they can't have their way, even when they are 82 years old. Meet my grandmother. The grown ones are adults even as children, who feel the necessity to take care of other people. Anal retentive, responsible, ambitious. They are like eldest children to the extreme. That's me!

The only real regret I had as an only child was that I was not properly socialized, so when I started school it was a major shock. I mean, I was around nothing but adults until then. Make sure your daughter is around kids her age on a regular basis, at least once a week or so. That way she can be accustomed to others her age.

Don't worry, as long as you don't spoil her rotten, she'll be fine.
Hipi

My ex wife was an only child. We had the one daughter out of the marriage and she is now 12. She does tend to be a bit more sppiled and materialisitc -- teaching them to share can be a major chore. However, both my ex wife and I treat her as a wonderful blessed child. My ex wife's tastes are different than mine -- her and her new husband take "their" family out to NASCAR; stock car races, etc.

I (being single gave me more options) got involved in a lot of organizations -- Chamber of Commerce; Ski Club; Jaycees; ABC Club; Arts Council, etc -- and started taking her so that she got over her shyness around others. It worked well with adults. My ex gf had twin boys and hipi is right, getting only children around kids their own age is very important. They need to learn socialization skills.

But there are also organizations like Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts; Church groups (youth groups); as she gets older you can enroll her in dance/ballet or karate.

I will tell you my experience has been a fun ride -- she is a wonderful young lady who cares about others; is polite and well spoken; she just won the spelling bee at her Junior HS.

Look at it as a wonderful adventure. You have a veyr young wonderful mind who can grow up to be a beautiful, creative caring individual.

As she gets older her step brothers and sisters will want to come around her more. Think of all the fun you will have!

Kevin

was mostly raised as an only child. My ex was 18 years older than me and my oldest step son is 6 years younger than me. Five step sons in all. The youngest was 14 when we had our daughter. They never lived with us and were out of state for most of my daughter's early childhood. She knew she had 5 older brothers, but because of the age difference, and the fact that none of them ever lived with us, she was raised mostly as an only child. We spoiled her, but not with material things, but with our time and love. She is now 27 and a good young adult woman struggling to make it in the world. She isn't very close to her brothers, which is a shame, but she is close to her niece and nephews. Some of her nices and nephews are close to her age, and they all went to the same HS, so she grew up interacting with (my stepgrandkids) them instead of her older brothers. I think one of the difficult times when she first met her brothers mother. That was a little difficult to explain, she was only 5, and I don't think she ever questioned who their mother was. But she took it all in stride and so did the boys.

Hanny

I think it's not a bad thing to be good to your kids, so "spoiled" doesn't always mean truly spoiled. I love my grandmother & we have a good relationship, but she put my mother through hell. My grandmother was the spoiled only child... the whole world revolved around her, she didn't have to do anything for herself, & she was the center of attention. She was 29 when my mother was born & she has always resented my mother for taking away her attention. And when she doesn't get her way, she throws a tantrum... to this day. She competes with my mother for cooking. I've said her & my mother were close... well, they are, despite the fact that they don't get along. They live in the same house & my mother - gasp - has taken care of my grandmother since my grandfather passed away 28 years ago. Like I said, I love my grandmother, but there's a lot about her that I don't respect. Act like an adult & don't treat your child that way!

My BD14 was raised as an only child until I got married 2 years ago. My mother is also an only child and they are so much alike!!! I have had an amazing experience raising her and learning more about my mother. There is something really kind about them both...kind of what Hipichik first mentioned. My mom is an educator, extremely nurturing and probably the best person I've ever known (until my daughter). My daughter's not your typical 14/15 year old. She's a straight A student, very ambitious but a kind soul. She just got so upset the other night because of "girl drama" in high school. She just cried and cried because she thinks everyone is supposed to be nice and she's getting her first real dose of mean girls (like the movie).

Sorry, I'm rambling but I had to respond to this one! Only children are really special to me... as for the sharing part, it's true, but you can teach it. I put my daughter in daycare around 2 years old and that helped! Didn't you just start back to work? The daycare will teach her to share and the socialization will take care of itself. Good luck