Only child syndrome

So I never really believe people when they talk about only children being selfish or difficult or whatever fill-in-the-blank negative word. I mostly consider myself an only child since I didn't meet my stepbrother until I was seven and he only lived with us full time for a few years when we were teenagers. I like to consider myself a pretty generous person and I get along well with others, so no only child issues here. (Although I obviously do think highly of myself!)

Dylan is going on six now and anyone who knows him well would agree that he is a very well behaved child. He is kind and sweet, funny and outgoing, happy and easy going. He is all those things about 98%. The only time we ever really have behavior problems is when he is over tired or just generally being too "boy". Rough and wild, you know.

This weekend we were at the lake with Jason's side of the family. Our niece, Kennedy is three and a half and our nephew, Helton, turned one while we were there. Kennedy and Dylan were inseparable, to say the least. The first words out of her mouth every morning were, "Where's Dylan?". He was very good with her and Helton and mostly acted the role of big brother to them both without any resistance.

However, at least once a day he got ornery. He needed a break. He wanted more attention. He acted out. My mother-in-law found a feather and gave it to them to look at while we were on a boat ride. Kennedy held it for five minutes and then Dylan wanted a turn. She wanted it back and I told him it was her turn. She had continually asked him not to throw the feather out of the boat and I kept reassuring her that was not going to happen. Guess what? It did. He just stuck it right over the edge and let go. She flipped out. But then, like 3 year-olds do, got over it in about three minutes. Then, Dylan flipped out. He was upset with himself. I don't think he understood why he wanted to upset her. It took much longer for him to get over it.

Needless to say, I started seeing some of the "only child syndrome" showing through. I am not worried about it as I am sure he will have a better understanding of the right behavior in just a few years. Mostly you could just tell he was not used to any other kids stealing his thunder.

My heart melted a few times when he really proved what a good big brother he could be, saying "Great job!" to her when she would kick the ball 10 feet or wanting to hold Helton even though he only outweighs him by about 10 lbs.

Either way he is a good kid and I am very proud to be his mom, only child rebel or not.