The "One and Done" Generation

Only-child families are on the rise. Can we finally stop believing the stereotypes about them?

- LAURIE YARNELL

In popular media, big families often seem to be in vogue— think TV shows and movies like Eight ls Enough,Cheaper by the Dozen,The Loud House and 19 Kids and Counting. But in reality the trend is moving in the opposite direction: One-child families are now the fastest-growing type of family unit in the U.S. According to Pew Research Center data, the percentage of birthing parents who reached the end of their childbearing years with only one child doubled in the last generation— from 11% in 1976 to 22% in 2014. It’s as high as 48.9% in the European Union. What's driving parents to stop short of the “2.5 kids” trope?

The Rise of Onlies

Concerns about finances, climate change and what's going on in the world politically are certainly influential. So is the trend of parents’ postponing having kids to pursue their educations, careers or other interests and then either choosing to have only one child because of their ages or encountering fertility issues. Changing family configurations and the increased visibility of single and LGBTQ individuals who have children also have played a part in the rise of onlies, says Susan Newman, PhD, a New York psychologist and the author of

Just One: The New Science, Secrets & Joy of Parenting an Only Child. “Being a single or gay parent isn’t unusual,” she says, “but single parents might not have the bandwidth for more than one child, and adoption can be difficult for anyone.”

Sa'iyda Shabazz of Los Angeles says, “It ultimately came down to time and energy.” She explains, “I was a single parent for six years, and when my wife and I got together we felt that we were too burned out by life to have the energy needed to raise another child.” Some people just feel that having one child makes the most sense for them.

Why Myths Persist