According to Eurostat, almost one in two families in Europe has just one child. – Photo: LordHenriVoton / Getty Images, via ETX Daily UP
In the collective imagination, the nuclear family is symbolised by the presence of two children. But in reality, single-child households are becoming increasingly common throughout the world, particularly in Western societies.
In many countries, single-child households now outnumber those with two or more children. This family model, long marginalised, is now integrated and accepted as a natural evolution of demographic patterns.
According to Eurostat, nearly one family in two in Europe has only one child. In fact, this family structure is becoming the majority. Around 40% of households have two children, and 10% have three or more. France is in the lower range of the European Union, with around 40% of families counting one single child.
In the United States, the proportion is lower than in Europe. In 2015, 22% of families had a single child, according to figures from the National Council on Family Relations, reported by Business Insider. However, this figure has doubled since 1978. Conversely, large families have become rare. The one-child family is the fastest-growing family configuration in the United States. In Canada, one-child families were the most common type according to the most recent census data for 2021.
This trend can also be observed in East Asia, where the birth rate is currently plummeting. According to projections by INED – the French Institute for Demographic Studies – there will be fewer than one birth per woman in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2024. For example, in South Korea, which has the lowest birth rate in the world (0.72 babies per woman), many households are choosing to have just one child. In 2020, a quarter of married women in their 40s had one child, compared to just 10% of married women over 60, according to a study published in 2023 in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports.
A life choice
The boom in one-and-done families across several continents can be explained by a combination of factors.
Having just one child enables people to satisfy their desire for parenthood while maintaining a balance between their personal and professional lives. This work-life balance – increasingly desired by parents – is easier to maintain with one child. Women are increasingly committed to their careers. Between a later entry into working life – due in particular to longer studies – and this prioritization of work, they often choose to postpone motherhood. This trend is reflected in the statistics. The average age of women giving birth for the first time is rising steadily. In France, women have their first child at an average age of 31, compared to 29.4 20 years ago. And as women have children later in life, they logically have less time to have several.
There's also a financial dimension. Raising a child is becoming increasingly expensive. Over the past 50 years, the cost of raising a child has risen much faster than the average wage. In 2021, a quarter of American parents under 40 said they didn't want more children for financial reasons, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Indeed, periods of economic crisis and inflation do not reassure parents when it comes to expanding their families.
In the United States, the average cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 is estimated to be $310,000, according to an analysis published in 2022 by the Brookings Institution. This figure does not include college tuition, which can double the cost. According to data from the Yuwa Population Research Institute, reported by Korea Times, the cost of raising a child is highest in South Korea. Between birth and the age of 18, Korean parents spend 7.79 times the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. This is followed by China (6.9 times per capita GDP), Germany (3.64) and France (2.24).
Moving on from clichés
Nowadays, having just one child is no longer frowned upon by society. Until the '70s and '80s, having an only child was often a product of circumstance rather than a conscious life choice. People stopped at one because of a medical complication, illness or divorce, for example.
In the early 20th century, Granville Stanley Hall was one of the first American psychologists to study the phenomenon of only children. He came to the conclusion that being an only child was "a disease in itself." The vision of the temperamental, egocentric, even authoritarian only child left a lasting impression on people's minds. It wasn't until many decades later that his research was called into question. In the 1980s, Toni Falbo, a psychologist who herself had no siblings, reviewed 141 studies on the subject – specifically, on the personality development of only children. The findings showed that these children were not the would-be tyrants they had long been portrayed to be. According to the psychologist, growing up without siblings could even have advantages, since these children could be able to adapt to all circumstances, solve problems independently, have no fear of being alone and be able to form strong friendships, for example.
But these are all just generalizations. In fact, much depends on the family context, as with other families, regardless of the number of children involved. In reality, there is a great diversity of only children, and they should not be viewed as a group in themselves. – AFP Relaxnews
