Behavior can be defined as the way in which an individual behaves or acts towards others especially on a particular occasion. Behavior is the mirror which reflects one’s true self. The patterns of behavior displayed by children are important indications of their growth and development. Objective: to compare the behaviour of a single child and sibling child between the age group 5-15 years of age. Methodology: Children aged 5-15 years attending OPD in Paediatrics Department of Hi-Tech MCH, Bhubaneswar from September 2019 to October 2021 were included. A Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess the behavioral quality of the children. It is a questionnaire containing 50 items. Each item scores 0, 1 and 2 respectively for Not True, Sometimes True and Very True. The maximum possible score was 100 and the total score was categorized as Good behaviour pattern ( score 0 - 54), Average behaviour pattern ( score 55 - 77) and Poor behaviour pattern ( score 78 - 100). Depending upon the score, the children were categorized into good, average, poor behavior pattern. Data was entered into MS Excel, tabulated and analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Results: Out of total 220 children( 110- single child, 110 child with sibling) most of the Single child, 79(71.8%) had average behaviour pattern as compared to Child with siblings, whose maximum children97(88%) had good behaviour pattern. Conclusion: Its better to have atleast 2 children in a family than a single child as siblings help a lot in modifying and shaping the behaviour pattern of a child.

Keywords : single child, siblings, parents, behaviour, modified behaviour checklist