You bring up a great topic! There are several studies showing that kids who grow up in large, but well-functioning families are the people who are less likely to have mental issues, depression and so on later in life.

Siblings help you learn how to solve conflicts, to share, to advocate for yourself and others, to wait for your turn…

Siblings are great to have when your parents die, when crisis hit the family, when you loose someone, when you’re broke, when you need honest advice. When China had their one child policy, they started having social problems when those kids became adults. They had been too pampered by parents and grandparents, but they also had enormous pressure to succeed and become something great. Expectations to marry well. They were the only person to take care of their parents in old age. And if that one child died a premature death, it was disastrous for the parents and grandparents.

School and social media teaches kids to keep distance to family members, and to only interact respectfully with people who are just like you. (Same age, style and so on). Siblings may be different from you, but that’s actually the point. To interact with them gives you skills for life, and siblings can not be exchanged for others.

Having several kids during Corona social distancing has been a life saver for them. They were never lonely or bored in the same way. They didn’t get depressed when activities were closed down. They always had someone to talk to and hang out with.

Why on earth would people have only one child if they are able to have more? It’s because they don’t get to raise them themselves. And this is by design, btw. Don’t buy into it.