Reddit user u/imlovegina recently asked, "What is a dead giveaway that someone is an only child?" People identified so many different things — here's what they said.
1. "They are very deliberate in their chosen relationships, e.g., friendships, partners, and are usually extremely independent, at least in my experience."
2. "If they keep getting calls asking about their whereabouts when they're out."
3. "From personal experience, food habits. Like buying snacks to store at home and fully expecting them not to have been touched while you're gone, or eating slower at the dinner table because you're not fighting over the good food. As a teen, on the rare occasion, my dad would steal a snack I got for myself and I'd freak out, whereas my friends with siblings just resigned themselves to the fate of snacks inevitably disappearing. My mom eats super fast at meals and attributes it largely to growing up with siblings."
4. "No tales of sibling violence."
5. "Not liking to share their food. My husband HATES sharing food! He is also very good at keeping himself entertained and busy — this was very evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when I was soooo bored and lost because all my previous hobbies and pastimes were outside the home and/or social activities. However, he just kept going and picked up so many new independent hobbies."
6. "I can't tell for adults, but when it's one of my kids' friends, the kid who ends up trying to hang out with the adults and gets overwhelmed by being in a group of kids has been an only child 100% of the time, in my experience."
7. "Being good at keeping ourselves entertained or doing things alone/being independent."
8. "From my own experience, not being as prone to loneliness. The only time I really feel lonely is when I'm around people I'd rather not be with."
9. "I am an only child…I've noticed I tend to make a lot of life choices on my own and don't seek out a lot of advice or ask for help when I could definitely use it. In fact, I've been pretty deep into tough situations before I finally realized that there are people and resources I can utilize. It's not so much that I'm worried about asking for help — more like it doesn't even register in my brain that there is help outside of myself."
10. "Thinking friendship is like having siblings. It's not. I would never smash a toy on my friend's head and expect them to speak to me after."
11. "I heard once that only children are less likely to announce where they are going when they leave a room. Right away, I realized I'm like that, but my partner, who grew up with two sisters, tells me where he's about to go when he moves, even if it's to the bathroom."
"I never noticed this was something people do! I just get up and leave to go do my thing. It never occurred to me anyone would wonder why I left. I, uh, I'm an only child."
12. "My boyfriend is an only child, and it was his confusion at how I could be mad at my sister (who is also my roommate) one minute and turn around and get ice cream or go see a movie together. He grew up with a bunch of cousins around his age, but it was the quick turnaround of 'I'm so mad at you' to 'I wanna hang out, let's do something.'"
13. "I told my boyfriend to close his eyes and open his mouth (I was surprising him with candy), and he just did it with no suspicion at all. People with siblings can’t trust like that."
14. "I'm an only child. One huge difference I see time and time again with those who have siblings is that they had much more exposure to a longer time span of media/music/games growing up. My idea of nostalgia consists of my specific timeline of media growing up, but those with siblings could watch TV shows their older brother watched, or knew about that game their little sister played."
What are some other signs that someone is an only child? Share them in the comments below.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.