How do i make being an only child a positive experience for my ds?

wildcake · 2012-08-28 07:26:01

I have one ds, 2.5, it is very likely he will be an only (fertility issues). I have been reading this section + was quite surprised to hear lots of now grown up only children saying they hated it, it seems a lot compared to how rare I thought being an only child was back then. It scares me quite a bit, although there is not much I can do about my situation. So to help me feel more positive I would appreciate suggestions on how to avoid my ds having a crap experience being an only child. The main areas I see that people struggled with are - holidays/Christmas - so eg we could offset this by always inviting a friend/going with another family or going to places with kids clubs. Christmas - we could try + spend some of the day with another family. I go to mum + toddler most weeks + we spend about twice a month socialising with friends/family with children - although most are quite a bit older than him, but still very willing to all play together. For our old age, I would be quite happy to go into a retirement village type place (I have visions of learning tai chi, doing lots of painting, playing cards etc - might be a bit over-optimistic about that one). On a day to day basis, I try to balance playing/reading with him with him spending time playing alone, he also has a cat who he loves to play with. He is naturally very sociable, once he catches sight of another child he'll dash off to play with them. So to try and avoid the negatives I have heard - loneliness, not able/willing to socialise or share things, being bossy and 'wanting it all their own way', being demanding and clingy, can you suggest ideas to help deal with these potential problems?