Relationships in China Part One Yes, completely understand. The teenagers from Kunming, that I hosted two years ago in my house in California, were almost all the only child. Out of 30 teenagers that came here, only 2 had brother/sister. It is a complicated situation, because as you say, there are social, emotional and psychological impacts to this. The childhood years are the most important in terms of development, so there are many impacts to the individual and society in this type of situation. Also, agree, there is so much co-dependency that is developed in this situtation. The child learns to become very dependent on the parents (in most cases, not all) and the parents increasing become dependent on the child, especially as they get older. In most countries, the responsibility for caring for parents is shared among the siblings, so there is a balance that is established. This creates a healthy relationship between the individual needs of the child, and the need to care for the parents as they get older in age. Also, I think the push to have the child get married early is based on the parents need to create a foundation for caring for them as they get older. This places increasing pressure on the child to meet someone, and have a family, as a form of caring for the parents in their later years.