Growing up with siblings is admittedly much more fun for the child - never a dull moment. That being said, there are lots of only children out there that grew up surrounded with cousins, friends and schoolmates and they never complained of ever being lonely. Here's an interesting article about growing up as an only child: http://thoughtcatalog.com/chandrayee-chatterjee/2014/08/things-i-learned-growing-up-as-an-only-child/