I didn’t think I would see the day.  Time Magazine’s July 19th edition (due to hit newsstands today) contains a cover story called “The Only Child Myth”.  You can read an excerpt here, but I for one will be buying the issue at my local grocery store.

The only-children myth started in 1896 when Granville Hall did a study where he concluded that only children where “oddballs and peculiar”.  Psychologists disseminated and supported his research for years, until the 1970′s when Toni Falbo did a huge study with tens of thousands of only children in China and the US.  Her conclusions were different.  Yes, only children get everything their parents have to give since they are the only one on the receiving end, but they also scored higher on intelligence and achievement for the same reason – more concentrated resources and opportunities.

My favorite part of the article is a quote by psychologist Carl Pickhardt, who says, “There’s no question that only children are highly indulged and highly protected. You’ve been given more attention and nurturing to develop yourself. But that’s not the same thing as being selfish. On balance, that level of parental involvement is a good thing. All that attention is the energy for your self-esteem and achievement.” But, he adds, “everything is double-edged. And everything is formative.”  As with everything in life, there are pluses and minuses to having just one child.  For our family, the pluses outweigh the minuses.  However, I have friends who feel differently and who raise a larger family successfully.