< Return to The Case for the Only Child
Author’s Note
Introduction: Filling Your Nest, but How Full?
Size Matters
The Tough Questions
1. The Trend Toward One-Child Families
The Way Family Was
The Way Family Is
Family in Flux
A Worldwide Phenomenon
China’s One-Child Policy
Fueling the Trend
2. Pressure, Pressure Everywhere
Family Telling You What to Do
“Have Another”–Pressure from Peers
“I Want a Brother”–Pressure from Your Child
Subtle, Surprising, and in Your Face
Fending Off the Naysayers
3. Stereotypes–Fact Versus Fiction
Why Stereotypes Linger
Harassed by Stereotypes
The Lonely Only–Not in Today’s World
Imaginary Friends: Any in Your House?
Don’t Be Shy–More Myths Debunked
Spoiled? Not My Child
Grasping at Straws
4. The Kid Ceiling
The Maternal Wall
Pregnant: What Could You Be Thinking?
The Motherhood Penalty
The Money Gap
5. Children Are Big-Ticket Items
Million-Dollar Baby
Being Practical about Having Babies
Bottom-Line Considerations
6. Divided We Stand
She Wants, He Doesn’t
A Boy for You…
…A Girl for Me
If Dads Helped More…
The Postponement Effect
7. Tick-Tock–Your Biological Clock
When First Children Become Only Children
Fertility Options
Forty (or Close) Is the New Twenty for Having Babies
Support and Understanding
8. The Happiness Factor
“One Is One… Two Is Four”
Mothers with One Child Are Happiest
The Happiness Challenge
Parenting–the All-Consuming
Competitive Sport
9. Sibling Realities
Dethroned
Mom and Dad Love You More
Does My Child Need a Sibling?
Help Your Sister
Play with Me
“It’s Not Fair”
Siblings–a Roll of the Dice
10. Into the Future
Who Will Care for Mom?
Children as a Safety Net
What Are Friends For?
A New Direction for Family
11. Decisions, Decisions
Your Childhood Revisited
Reality Check
Deciding Factors
The Road to Your First Child
Deliberations
The Family Bond
12. One and Done
Only Children Have Their Say
Changing How People Think
Singular Sensations
The New Traditional Family
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
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