to rely on themselves and were thus forced to become
inventive and resourceful at an early age.
But that is not all. MRI tests revealed differences in brain
structure. In the supramarginal gyrus, a cortical area asso-
ciated with creativity and imagination, researchers found
more gray matter (linked to intelligence) among only chil-
dren. Researchers, however, discovered fewer gray cells in
the frontal brain, more precisely in the medial prefrontal
cortex, of only children than those with siblings. This defi-
cit was accompanied by lower tolerance. Earlier studies
also attributed important functions to this brain region
when it comes to processing emotional information,
including the ability to attribute feelings to others and reg-
ulating one's own emotions.
How much influence the effect of being an only child has
is questionable. It may depend on how many other oppor-
tunities an only child regularly has to develop his or her
social and cognitive abilities. After all, only children are by
no means cut off from social settings—contacts in kinder-
garten, for example, offer a varied interpersonal training
ground. Parents likely have to work harder at teaching
their only kids social skills and engineering opportunities
where children would have to share their toys, books and
parental attention. Otherwise, creating a loving and calm
environment seems more important than the number of
children in a household.
singke
(singke)
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