Никоненко Тамара Петрівна

 These opinion essays were written by Alla Nykonenko, a school-leaver of Varva Gymnasium in 2009

   To begin with I’d like to say that I’m not the only child in the family. I have a brother. My brother is too young. He is only two and I remember being the only child in the family. To be an only child in the family has its advantages and disadvantages.
   On the one hand it is good when you are the only child in the family. Firstly, your parents love you most of all because you are their only child. They give you all you need and want. They spend all their free time with you. They protect you even if you are rather old because they worry about you all the time and because you are their only child.
   Secondly, you have your own space to live and nobody else captures it. You have your own room and you needn’t share it with another person a brother or a sister.
   Thirdly, you have no responsibility because your parents take care of everything.
   On the other hand it is bad to be the only child in the family. Firstly, you have nobody to play with. You have no real friend, because I think the real friend is your sister or brother, the person who is always with you. There are some moments in the life when you need smb to support you, to help or understand you.
   Secondly, all parents make their child help them about the house. If you are alone you must do all this work alone, but if you have a brother ar a sister you will not have to do everything alone. It’s easy and fun.
   Thirdly, if you do smth wrong your parents always know who has done it. If you have a brother or a sister they can help you to get out of trouble.
   Fourthly, if you are the only child, parents will give you everything, even the star from the sky and you will become spoilt even uncontrolled. You may do many bad things.
   As for me I was the only child till 16 and then I was given a brother. Now I think to be the only child is very bad. All the time you are alone. You play alone… To have a brother or a sister is not so bad as people think. I am sure that in future a close person will be with me. I don’t know if I have a husband or children, but I’m sure that I’ll have the brother who will help me at any moment. It is very hard to be alone in this world. You need smb to help you to survive.