In a bad economy, opting for an only child

Over the course of modern American history, economics have played a role in the number of children parents choose to have. During the Great Depression, for example, 23 percent of families had only one child. And in our current economic recession, 64 percent of women polled by the Guttmacher Institute said they did not plan on having a child now, because they couldn’t afford to. Aside from economics, what are the benefits and drawbacks of limiting family size?

Lauren Sandler is the author of a new piece in Time Magazine called ?The Only Child: Debunking the Myths? about the choice more parents are making to have an ?only child.? She’s the parent of an only child and an only child herself.

And Susan Newman is the author of ?Parenting an Only Child.? She also writes the Singletons blog at Psychology Today and is working on a new book called ?The Case for the Solo Child.?