One is a sweet spot. A twin study of 35,000 showed moms of only children are happier than women without kids, and happier those with two or more. A recent study of 20,000 parents over 16 years shows the birth of a second child increases parental stress due to time pressure, and mothers are hit the hardest.
In terms of happiness, a compelling argument for having an only child comes from science that strongly indicates that mothers with one child are happiest.
According to a Gallup poll, 4 in 10 Americans say three or more children is the ideal family size.
Two kids require more time, more attention, and more energy than one, which means you have less of all of those to spend on each other. Date nights, romantic evenings, and even casual conversations are harder to come by. You also have more things to disagree on.
Are children happier with or without siblings? An only child is more content and confident than those with siblings, reports The Observer. Happiness in children declines once there are more siblings in the home, an Understanding Society research study has found.
“If you want to maximize your subjective well-being, you should stop at one child,” the study's author told Psychology Today. A more recent study, from Europe, found that two was the magic number; having more children didn't bring parents more joy.
As children and teenagers, only children may actually be happier without siblings. One large study found that having younger siblings reduced life satisfaction in kids and teens. Another found that teenagers with siblings were twice as likely to suffer from depression.
Once the first child is born, time pressure increases for both parents. Yet this effect is substantially larger for mothers than fathers. Second children double parents' time pressure, further widening the gap between mothers and fathers.
As a result, parents find that their mental and physical health takes a big hit with two kids thanks to the effect of chronic stress. And that's especially true for women in cisgendered, straight relationships, where both partners tend to slot, unconsciously or otherwise, into traditional carer/earner roles.
Parents can also benefit from having only one child, Dr Newman says, with "less stress and pressure; ability to pursue your own interests; spontaneity, [and] a closeness that develops between parent and child".
They become quite independent as they reach 5-6 years of age, even wanting to help you with some of the chores! This is probably why most parents look at age 6 as the magical age when parenting gets easier.
According to a survey conducted by British parenting website Bounty, two girls are considered the best combination for parents to have a happy and harmonious family life. In their study, they surveyed 2,116 parents who had children aged 16 and under.
Modern science suggests only children are exceedingly normal. Studies that go back to the 1980s show there are no set differences between singletons and children with siblings, aside from onlies having stronger bonds with their parents.
One is a sweet spot. A twin study of 35,000 showed moms of only children are happier than women without kids, and happier those with two or more.
Why Single Moms Are Happier Than Those That Marry, According To Census Data. Negative commentary about single moms is still prevalent, but having a baby without a partner as a single mother by choice might make you the happiest according to science.
His recent study of 13,500 kids found that any difference in social competence between only children and those with siblings disappears by adolescence: By grade 7, only children were just as popular as their peers with siblings. The study's authors concluded “there is little risk to growing up without siblings."
Having two kids is a lot of things, but it is never dull. That's because it requires balancing different tasks, different personalities, different needs, different wants, different everything. On a day-to-day basis, this can be exceptionally chaotic and stressful.
"The survey finds that the majority of respondents believe that two children is the 'ideal' number for family happiness, but the majority of respondents also have two children.
MYTH: Parents who choose to have one child are selfish
"Selfish is a word that comes up over and over again when it comes to only children. But being selfish can be a good thing," explains Jenny. "Endless compromise does no one any favours and a few of my friends have the wrecked relationships to prove it."
More Americans say that regret is common among adults who decide to remain childless than among parents: 40% say adults who have chosen to remain childless very often or somewhat often regret that choice, while 40% say they regret it not very often or not often at all.
A study from Princeton University and Stony Brook University found that parents and nonparents have similar levels of life satisfaction, but parents experienced both more daily joy and more daily stress than nonparents. “Life without children is simply much more stable,” Glass says.
Having one child as opposed to two or more may allow for a more controlled environment. Siblings can help children learn how to navigate relationship struggles. There is no right answer to the question of how many children is best, and parents should not worry about the “magic recipe."
Only children often develop better verbal skills and excel in school because they are read to more often than children with siblings, she said. Only children also tend to have higher IQs, which researchers say may be because their parents have higher expectations for them and more time and money to give.
Based on the study findings, they suggest the optimal time between giving birth and getting pregnant again is 18 months, with a range of 12 to 24 months. That said, many experts still adhere to the recommendation of 18 to 24 months.