To think it's quite common to have one child these days?

[moomin35]

Lots of people I know in their 30's have one child and don't look like they're going to have another which I think is on the rise (nothing wrong with this just am observation!) Do you agree?

Smaller families more common in general these days. I used to assume if anyone had one child it was through choice, as they'd managed it the first time iyswim. (Lesson learned when trying for dc2!)

No so "these days" about it.
My dm is an only
My dfil is an only.

Funnily enough I know more childless couples than couples with one child. Most people I know have two children or more.

Nothing wrong with having one child I think two is probably average but it all depends on what the parents want or can afford I think often people go along with the two children norm because its what's expcted ,

In the UK it's pretty common. Irish families still seem to average four kids.

Actually I would say there is a fairly even spread between those who have one,two and three. As opposed to a few decades ago where 4 or more seemed the norm.
Perhaps it seems like more one child families because they were rare a few years back. Seems to be less two child families ( in favour of one and three child types) but perhaps that was the norm in 70's.

I think all the responses so far have been based on observation of those around them, and that can be subject to bias confirmation.

I would love to see some ONS information about this.

Personally, I don't think I have noticed any difference within my friends/family circles over the last 30+ years

I have two and would like another but started my family late so this is it for me now. I have one of each gender so wont complain about not having another child.

I know quite a few one child families now and the reasons are vary from second time infertility or having started late and just managed to have one before peri menopause began. Not one of the couples that I know chose to have one child, it was more down to circumstances.

We are one child family and in the minority in our social circle . There is one other in family and a no more than a handful in a three form entry at school.

Another observation, but we have one DC and know of only one other family with a single child. A fair few have 3 or more how the hell do they do it?

If I was starting a family now I would only have the one child. We have 3 and the expensive is never ending. No one must believe the myth that University can be funded just by the student and a loan. Its laughable. The extra expensive is crippling.

I know of very few families with just 1 dc, most have at least 2. I too know far more childless couples (with no dc now possible) than I do just 1 dc.

I'd love to see some proper stats on this.

Most of my school friends were from two DC families. I am, DH is, 3/4 of our parents are. (DMIL was an only, but her dad died when she was small).

Today there seem more onlys and far, far more families with three or four DCs. (I bad four cosions, but they lived in London, I don't think there were any four DC families at school).

I lost my first and third children. DD would have had 2 siblings but Mother Nature decided it wasn't to be. I came from a family of 4 children and we were regarded as a large family at school.

In DS's class of 30 he is one of five onlies. He and one of the others are onlies through choice but I don't know about the other three. I don't think there were any only children in my class at primary school.

Probably depends where you are. I know many one child families in the UK but in the Netherlands there seem to be many 3/4/5 children per family and one child families seem to be less common (at least that is my impression).

Round here 3 seems to be surprisingly popular. As in as common as 2. Maybe more so. Very few people seem to have 1. I have some friends who have none, they're work people though and there's not many women left in my work after kids not full time anyway so that's maybe a bit of a self selecting bunch.

I have one and will only have one, I can't see any benefits to having another. She may have half siblings from her dad one day but not from me. Means I have more money, time and attention to spend with her

OTOH at my school 1 or 2 was the norm and more than 2 was unusual.

Prob depends on all sorts of location and socio economic and ethnic/religious mixes in your peer group or something I expect.

Isn't it 50%? Am I making that up? However any 'snapshot' info will include children like my DC1 who was an only for 3 years but was always intended to be one of more. I know quite a lot of onlies where it has been a deliberate choice to have one for the benefits it brings the parent lifestyle, but I also know several families of 3+.

To those asking for stats....

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/infographics/census-2011--population---family-size/index.html

Most families I know have 2 DC, but I know more families with 1 DC than with 3 or more DC.

I don't know about all of the 1 DC families I'm acquainted with - I know some of them would have liked a DC2 and were unable to have another - but there's certainly at least a handful of them that have actively chosen not to TTC for another.

Quickly totting up dc's class mates and the only children seem to be the children with parents who have been married before and other children are in the mix. Can't think of anyone who has one through choice.

Aha! Location skew. Knew it!!!! Bet it even breaks down further than that by locality. We got a lot of religion around here which leads to larger families I think, also quite afluent.

I have no idea what the figures are for only children, but as it took me 14 years to persuade my husband to agree to having a child, I was 37 by then and didn't feel it was feasible or wise to have another. It is annoying, since I'm extremely maternal and had been with him since I was 23, that I had to wait so long to have a child, but, as the saying goes, "better late than never"