(Isabella Baranyk / Y-Press)

Isabella Baranyk drew this picture.

Zachary Bowman, Sam Jacobi, Drake Jellison, Brooke Sawyer and Tyler Sharpe are among a trend- setting group these days.

Each of these Indianapolis youths is an only child, and families such as theirs are the fastest-growing family group in the country.

According to the U.S. Census, the percentage of women having only one child rose from about 10 percent to 23 percent from 1980 to 2000.

Y-Press interviewed five youths to find out what it means to be an only child, the stereotypes they face, and the benefits and drawbacks to having no siblings.

It's nice being alone sometimes,"said Drake, 11. "It gives you time to think. You don't always have to worry about your brother bursting into your room.

It's also nice to have your parents' undivided attention, these children agreed. Often, they feel like they know their parents better than other kids know theirs.

"I do feel a lot closer with my parents -- maybe because I don't have a brother or sister, so it doesn't feel like he or she gets more love than me," said Brooke, 12. "I do find it easier to talk with them, also."

Tyler, 12, agreed: "I have a really good bond because my parents and I hang out a lot."

Zachary, 13, also is grateful that his parents have time to assist him with homework. "My parents do pressure me into getting good grades, but also they help me a lot. . . . They want me to get a good education and be able to go to college and get a good job and live a good life."

Getting a lot of attention from parents is often a good thing, said Carolyn White, editor and contributor to Only Child Magazine and author of "The Seven Deadly Sins of Parenting."

"They really feel that they are important to people, and they feel that they have a lot to contribute because . . . they really have a say in things."

Nonetheless, parents often feel pressure to have more than one child, White said.

"A lot of only children . . . have a sense of not belonging exactly in the way that they want to belong. And a lot of parents who feel guilty about having one child sometimes make their kids feel guilty, too."

These feelings may be the result of the negative stereotypes about "only children" being somewhat spoiled and selfish, said White and other experts who have studied only-children.

Toni Falbo, professor of educational psychology and sociology at the University of Texas-Austin, said only-children are no more selfish, maladjusted or lonely than kids who have brothers and sisters. She's conducted and reviewed dozens of studies on one-child families.

Indianapolis kids don't feel like they're spoiled or set in their ways, either.

"That's nonsense. People are born with their own personalities, and then it depends on how the parents raise them," Brooke said.

In some ways, these kids say their parents are less likely to overindulge them than parents who have more kids.

For example, there's no sibling to help with housework. In some families, kids wheedle out of chores by pushing them on a brother or sister to do. Or, they might blame someone else in the family when chores don't get done.

And Zachary, 13, added that he's never felt the sting of the only-child stereotypes.

"My friends don't even think about that. They judge me for who I am, not how many siblings I have."

Falbo said the research on only-children shows that they have higher self-esteem than kids in large families; they also are higher achievers in school because their parents have more time to encourage and help them.

There is a downside, however: Sometimes an only child feels more pressure from parents to be perfect, White said.

"When there's one child, very often parents will expect that child to be kind of everything -- artistic and academic and a real good football player; that's a lot of pressure," said White, who has only one child herself.

"I don't feel pressure from my parents to do everything right," said Drake. "I just want to do everything right."

Overprotecting an only child is a common mistake parents of "onlies" can make.

"If you protect your kids from everything in the world and you coddle them, they never have a chance to learn what their strengths are or to build their self-confidence," White said.

Sam, 11, said his parents are "a little bit" overprotective. "If there were more people in my family, they would have more people than just me to pay attention to."

Sometimes the kids wish they weren’t the only ones at home.

"A lot of times I’ve dreamt of having a brother or sister ’cause I get lonely a lot,” said Zachary. “I just think it would be nice to have somebody to play with or hang out with when my friends aren’t home.

But he also likes all the attention – and gifts – that he gets from his parents and realizes that would be different if he had to share with a brother or sister.

Drake pointed out that not all kids are happy with their brothers and sister.

"One of my former friends has two sisters and they hate him as much as he hates them.Not to mention the girls are sort of ‘weirdies.’ "

Without brothers and sisters, it can be difficult to learn how to resolve conflicts.

"Learning how to fight in a positive way is a very important thing. And that’s something sometimes only children don’t know how to do very well,’ said White. "They just don’t have those tools yet, and so they have to acquire them through their friendships. Friends are very important to only children.

Sam said he often just gives up to avoid an argument; he’s not used to fighting with other kids.

Tyler figured that he would be stronger if he had a big brother. As the little brother, he’d have to be stronger to win a wrestling match.

Brooke said she’s working on figuring out how to argue without getting too upset.

"Having a brother or sister would help me learn how to control my anger, which I am still working on in some cases," she said.

Contrary to popular belief, only kids are not loners; White said some of the most social people she’s met are from one-child homes.

Sam said he can’t afford to be shy. “Because I don’t just have brothers and sister to be playmates in the house every day, I have to find somebody to play with and make friends.

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Emily Davis, 16.

REPORTERS: Vincent Demyan, 13; Davis Kinkel, 12; Quinn Kinkel, 11; and James Officer, 10.

Copyright 2007 Y-Press