Single-child families have doubled in number to over 20% since the early 60’s.
It’s interesting that given how common only children are, I’m constantly asked when we’re having another … and whether or not I’m worried about how lonely my only child will be.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading studies on only children. From what I can gather, studies show that only children tend to reach higher academic and professional achievement (probably for many reasons, but the fact that parents are able to channel all of their time and resources behind one child certainly plays a big role). And stereotypes about only children being selfish, lonely, unhappy or self-centered have been shown in study after study to be untrue.
I know that having an only child comes with its own set of challenges, but that’s the case for children in all types of families whether they have siblings or not!
