Sales representative Salinda Ben, 26, from Johannesburg never felt lonely as an only child, though she often harboured fantasies about having a twin brother. Independent and blessed with a small, loyal circle of good friends, she is often told that she isn’t “typical” of an only child, and finds the stereotypes surrounding one-child families quite unsettling.
“I think only children are often perceived as spoilt, lonely and not used to compromise, since they have never had to share their parents’ love and attention,” she says. “People seem to expect these stereotypes, though I’m the first to admit that I never grew up in want of anything. I was,
