Families are getting smaller, and have been since the early 1960s, giving parents more time to devote to each child. As a result, parents today all seem to be pushing for star progeny. Children would benefit if parents could temper their dreams. With parents of only children, the tendency …

Dear Melissa, When my daughter Ingrid started kindergarten this September, she took an instant liking to another little girl, Jackie. We like Jackie’s family well enough and think Jackie is mostly a sweet girl, but we feel she is very different from our little one and this concerns us. Our daughter, Ingrid, is an only child in other words, she has the constant attention and guidance of two adults! — and she is the queen of enrichment classes, such as ballet, French, and experimental art classes. Ingrid’s ability to focus is excellent. She has been reading since she was four. She loves museums and sports. She is a quietly happy kid.

Adapted from Parenting an Only Child: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only A parent’s approach to rearing has far more to do with the child’s behavior and eventual outcome than does the number of siblings he does or doesn’t have. Most …