As a mom-of-one, former model Karen Duffy says she doesn’t give much thought to all the stereotypes about only children – “that they’re spoiled, they don’t share, they behave like mini adults, and they’re indulged by their parents.” She just wishes others wouldn’t either!
 
Karen writes on the subject of single child families in a new article for Cookie magazine. Her decision to have just one child was guided by health issues: Diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the central nervous system in her thirties, Karen says she is very grateful for her 5-year-old son Jack, writing, “I am still doing a victory lap in my head, thrilled with being a late-in-life mom…. I feel so lavishly blessed to be the mother to my son.”
 
Noting that single child families are “one of the fastest growing segments of our society,” Karen complains that parents of an only seem destined to deal with others’ opinions on their family size:

“I am comfortable and content, and I rarely think about raising our son as a single child. But the things some jackholes have asked me I find shocking. One woman asked, ‘You only have one? You better get going; I will pray for you!’ Well, thanks, but we are all set. Another guy said, ‘What if something happens to him? This is why we have two.’ I nearly fell off my chair. Huh? You need a spare child? With that mindset, would you suggest I get an extra husband, just in case?”

In spite of all the prying questions, Karen says she has no regrets and doesn’t spend time on “what ifs.”
 
“Our small family—just the three of us—feels right,” she says.
 
Do you think there is any truth to the only child stereotypes?
 
Via Cookie
Photo: PR Photos