I have an elder brother and a younger sister. So there're three children in my family. I don't really like that since my childhood. In a big family, we have to compromise. When I was in the primary school, I quarreled about which channel to watch with my brother who preferred cartoons on basketball, football or racing cars which I found less interesting. We fought to play computer games. My parents had been working in another city from us kids since I was in the grade three. My brother didn't attend a university. So he joined my parents in working earlier. At first, my parents paid some relative to look after us. When I went to a high school, I was independent. My sister boarded with other families. After I went to a local university, I gradually began to take care of my sister, who is seven years younger and has boarded with four families in total. If I want to tavel to some place, I need to make sure that it's not on weekends or some days when my sister came back from her school. Or my parents will say something like you're not considerate. I think my sister lacks care from my parents and I do try to make up for that. People think children raised in an extended family can communicate better and are more willing to share. That's true to some extend. I'd love to share. But I prefer to be the only child in the family. Kind of selfish maybe...What about you?
Sharing limited resources, or having to take care of our sisters/brothers can certainly make one doubt whether having siblings is good or bad. In many ways, it's the same thing when you have children -- the work it takes to parent them can be overwhelming, not to mention a financial burden for many years.
Often as you grow older, you start to appreciate having siblings (and children), as they are becoming more independent and in turn capable of helping and assisting you.
I'm 40 now, and love having 3 brothers of about the same age. I also have two childen, whom I love but who are still very much a chore on any given day!