Chapter 3Janet couldn't believe they were talking about her like that.
“As an only child grows up, competition occurs only in extra-familial settings,” Frank said, speaking to her father. “In families where there aren't other prominent issues such as alcoholism, chronic illness, or workaholism, an only child doesn't have to compete for the parents' attentions.” Frank had studied psychology before getting into physics. He and her parents were conversing after dinner. “Without such competition, an only child can more easily think that he or she is more deserving or entitled, may become more demanding and self-centered, less empathetic toward others and less insightful into the effect they have on other people.”
“That doesn't happen with all one-child families, does it?” her mother asked, h
