The single syndrome

Tanya Mann,a working professional,who is a single child says that it is the self-imposed pressure that children levy on themselves that tends to go against them. “It does get very strenuous at times,when I have to manage both,spending time with my folks at home as well as juggling work. And since I do not have a sibling,it does get difficult to do at times. And although as a kid I never missed not having a sibling,I do now,because once children grow up,they tend to bond easily as they can relate to one another better.”

Rashmi Menon,a psychologist who has dealt with single children who display traits of depression,owing to the fact that they are unable to devote time to their parents,or their families says,“It depends a lot on the atmosphere at home. A lot of families nowadays fall in the 4-2-1 structure wherein,there are four grandparents,the mother,father and a single child. More often than not these children are the centre of attraction in the households. However,the same love manifests into a form of parental pressure. And in the process they unknowingly distance the children from them. Later on when the child becomes a working professional there are cases wherein the children are constantly made to feel guilty about not being around to spend time with the family.”

She adds that children on the other hand are burdened by the extreme emotional pressure levied upon them and sometimes tend to snap under such circumstances as they are unable to please the family and eventually end up getting depressed.

Interestingly researchers have also found a name for the pressures that single children usually deal with. It is called the ‘Little Emperor Syndrome’,after the Chinese nuclear family structure. Attributed most frequently to increased spending power within the family unit and the parents’ desire for their child to experience the benefits they were denied,the syndrome results from the children’s sole command of their parents’ and grandparents’ attention. Described as a problem so acute that it’s changing how society functions,the Little Emperor effect has grown beyond a side effect in the recent past. It is also a major cause of the increasing amount of self pressure,that single children feel both in the developed world and in countries like India and China.

Speaking about his own experience of being a single child,and dealing with personal and professional commitments,Deepdutt Rakshit,a working professional says,“There was a time recently when both my parents fell ill at the same time and I was actually stuck taking turns to take them to the hospital and at the same time even managing work. It was not easy as I had to take leave from work and stay back to take care of them.”