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Articles & Radio Programmes

University
education: life as an only child
Eleanor Doughty | The Telegraph |30.08.13
Independence, an ease with herself and creativity are qualities
that Eleanor writes strongly about in celebration of her upbringing
as the only child as she goes to uni.
click here to read
Advice
for only children: invent a sibling so you can pass for normal
in group outings
Graeme Archer | The Telegraph |
26.08.13
Graeme Archer works as a statistician, and won the Orwell Prize for Political
Blogging in 2011. Here he offers light hearted but cogent advice for the only
child.
click
here to read Yes,
I'm an only child and, no, I'm not depressed – or beastly
Audrey Gillan | theguardian.com | 22.08.13
Feisty response to Colin Brazier article.
click
here to read Viewpoint:
Is it better for children to have siblings? Colin
Brazier | BBC News Magazine | 21.08.13
Father-of-six and Sticking Up For Siblings author
Colin Brazier says scare stories shouldn't detract from the benefits
of children having siblings. Interesting stuff.
click
here to read
Onliness
The
New Yorker | Alexandra Schwartz | 18.07.13
In a post about being an only child and only child protagonists in popular fiction,
Alexandra draw a compassionate picture of only child experience and talents.
click
here to read The
rise of the only child: Happier, higher achievers or
just more lonely?
Simon Edge | The Daily Express | 28.3.13
Children with no brothers or sisters will form the majority
of families within a decade, according to new stats.
A look at the numbers and celebrities Davina McCall,
Elton John and Maria Sharapova.
click
here to read
Single Children Families
Woman's Hour
BBC Radio 4 | 06.04.09
Damon Syson, journalist and father of one, Ann Richardson, Psychotherapist
specialising in working with adult onlies, Anastasia De Waal, Head
of Family and Education at the think tank Civitas discuss the pros
and cons of having one child, the experience of being an only and
how the future might look as the number of one child families increases.
click
here to listen
The One and Only
By Damon Syson | femail |27.03.09
A heavily edited article on why more parents are choosing a one
child family. click
here to read
Is Britain becoming a one-child nation?
By Damon Syson | Observer Magazine | 15.3.09
The number of families with a single child is growing at a faster
rate than ever. In this excellent article, Damon Syson, father of
one, weighs up the pros and cons of greedy breeding. click
here to read
The Natural History of the Only Child
By Carl Zimmer | Wired.com | 08.02.08
As people get richer, families get smaller, and scientists think
it's because wealthy parents believe quality is more important that
quantity. click
here to read
Rise of the One and Only Child
By Lucy McDonald | Times Online | 12.01.08
Detailed article about secondary fertility and some of the problems
associated with having a second child. click
here to read
The Only Child Myth
By Juju Chang and Sara Holmberg | ABC News
| 17.08.07
Spoiled, selfish and bratty are terms often used to describe only
children, which suggest that being an only child is undesirable.
Is there a grain of truth to the stereotype or is it just a myth?
click
here to read
Company for an Only Child, and for Parents, Peace of Mind
Tina
Kelley | The New York Times | 3/06/07
Hope Keil, 4, left, and Samantha Munk, 5, at a recent outing at
a restaurant play area. Although there is a widespread perception
that only children are lonely and socially awkward, it is one that
research does not bear out, and the children at the play date did
not seem lacking. “I have a dog,” Samantha explained.
click here to read
Plays Well Together?
Financial Times | 5/05/07
Miranda Green reports on the growth
of single child families. As the old stereotypes are contested by
modern psychologists and researchers, and as the internet provides
new opportunities to make contacts and share experiences, she asks
if a new picture emerges?
click
here to read
Woman's Hour
BBC Radio 4 | 30.08.06
Jenni Murray talks to Jill Pitkeathley and Ann Richardson about
the challenges of being an adult only child, especially caring for
elderly parents. And the BeingAnOnly Conference. click
here to listen
The Power of One
By Emma Brockes | Weekend Guardian | 22/07/06
A lively read about having and being an only child. Good contributions
from children and researchers. click
here to read.
The one and only
By Julian Worricker for BBCNews Magazine | 08.05.06
Presenter of Sue Ellis's Radio 4's documentary on the subject, Julian
writes about his experience of being an only child and setting it
in a contemporary context. He hopes that he bucks the trend and
doesn't match the stereotype. click
here to read.
Rise and rise of the only ones
By John-Paul Flintoff | The Sunday Times | 09.05.06
Flintoff sees Joan Baez, Dawn French and Glenda Jackson as mentors.
They too are the parents of an only child. In this article he discusses
the pros and cons. click
here to read.
Hidden lives of the only children
By Eleanor Patrick | Times Educational Supplement
| 21.04.06
Patrick reviews her experience of working with onlies as a counsellor
in a Durham primary school. She thinks schools should spare a thought
for youngsters without brothers and sisters. click
here to read.
Woman's Hour
BBC Radio 4 | 27.03.06
Jennie Murray talks to actor Tony Robinson about caring for his
elderly mother Phyllis in a moving interview, where both seem to
feel the poignancy of being the only child of their parents. click
here to listen.
Only Child: A Unique Inheritance
By Ann Richardson | Therapy Today | February 2006
In the BACP counselling journal, Ann Richardson describes some common
experiences of growing up as an only child and core issues presented
in therapy, quoting from research and highlighting the value of
peer sharing. Click
here to read.
The seven ages of an only child
By Joanna Moorhead | The Saturday Guardian | 04.04.06
Only child stories from seven individuals aged 10 to 68.
click here to read
Only need not mean lonely
By Amanda Blinkhorn & Deepa Shah |
Sunday Times | 07.07.05
Features the BeingAnOnly
Conference, The Power of Being One,
Author Terry Pratchett's
thoughts about his own childhood and only children in fiction, and
Comedienne Jenny Eclair's experience of being mother to an only.
click
here to read
Jeremy Vine Show
BBC Radio 2 | 10.06.05
Baroness the Rt Hon Jill Pitkeathley, Speaker at this year's conference,
was Jeremy Vine's guest on his phone-in, where she introduced the
theme and encouraged a lively debate on the only child experience
in child and adulthood. click
here to listen
The one and only
By Amy Raphael | The Observer Review | 13.02.05
Herself an only child and mother of an only, Amy
Raphael discusses her own experience of motherhood with mums, children
and professionals. She also includes interviews with adult onlies
between the ages of 20 and 50. And sets the whole piece in the context
of the growing numbers of only children in today's society in Europe
and America. A lively read. click
here to read
Being an only child
By Ann Richardson | Flying Start Magazine
| 09.04
In this new parenting magazine, Richardson discusses the pros and
cons of having no siblings, the only child's experience of being
with other children, parental worries and the importance of only
children meeting and sharing their experiences. click
here to read
School choice: unfair to the only child
Gunnar Pettersson | New Statesman | 6.09.04
Points up the shortcomings of the "sibling criterion"
in UK schools admissions policy. click
here to read
Around the greens: being an only child has its advantages in golf
Bill Kwon | Honolulu
Advertiser | 6.05.04
Considers an apparent preponderance of only children among successful
golfers and asks, is there something about being an only child that
makes one a better golfer? The answer seems to be ... yes.
click
here to read
Siblings: is first born best?
BBC Radio 1
Growing up as an only child or eldest, middle
or youngest. How does it compare? click
here to read
Only the lonely (letters to the editor)
By Bernice Sorensen | Sunday Times (UK)
| 22.2.04
"An area that was unexamined on the subject of population decline
is the psychological impact of the increasing numbers of only children
on future social policy. A great deal of emphasis has been placed
on reducing the population and little on the effects of what is
now popularly known as the "beanpole" family..." click
here to read
Only the lonely
By Sarah Ebner | Guardian
(UK) | 18.02.04
"Birthrates in the UK are falling, according to new
figures released yesterday. Sarah Ebner on the rise of the only
child." click
here to read
A lonely existence (letters)
By Bernice Sorensen | Daily Telegraph (UK) | 7.2.04
" [...] An only child myself, I have been carrying out in-depth
interviews with adult only children, to learn what they consider
to be the impact of their experiences." (Letter originally
titled, "Is it fun to be one?") click
here to read (registration necessary)
Changing families as societies age
By Sarah Harper |
University of Oxford: Oxford Institute of Ageing
(UK) |Research Report RR103 2003. click
here to read
Is one a lonely number?
By Caitlin Davies | Independent (UK) | 17.11.03
Parents of "only" children are often made to feel guilty
if they don't provide their baby with siblings ... click
here to read
Women's baby hopes cut back, study shows
By Hugh Muir | Guardian (UK) | 27.6.03
Women are waiting longer to have children and then settling for
fewer babies than they intended, according to figures released yesterday.
click
here to read
Beanpole families sprout social change
By John Carvel | Guardian (UK) | 30.1.03
"Beanpole families" - those with fewer children and multiple
generations of older people - are leading to profound social changes,
government statistician warned yesterday. click
here to read
Only children
BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour (UK) | 17.1.03
Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, co-author of "The Only Child: How
to Survive Being One" and Ann Laybourn from Glasgow University
join Martha. click
here to read
Demography points to the shape of things to come
Blueprint (Oxford Uni) (UK) | Vol.3, no.6 | 6.1.03
A report published last month by the Oxford Institute of Ageing
provides an insight into the future shape of families click
here to read
The one and only
By Lorna V | Guardian (UK) | 28.9.02
Do children who have lived without siblings really have a different
attitude to relationships once they grow up? Lorna V, and only child
herself, thinks they do. click
here to read
Nuclear family goes into meltdown
By John Arlidge | Observer (UK) | 5.5.02
Generations learn to link up to cope with lonely lifestyle.
click
here to read
Modern women choosing to have smaller families
By John Carvel | Guardian (UK) | 17.5.02
Women in England and Wales are having fewer children than at any
time since the government started keeping records of the nation's
fertility in 1924. click
here to read
Child poverty and large families: a research note
By Jonathan Bradshaw | University of York, Social Policy
Research Unit (UK) | 14.5.02
Equity principles would surely demand that a child should not be
poor because of its birth order? However in a distributional sytems
determined by the labour market, high parity children are more likely
to be poor. click
here to read
Sole survivors
By Hadley Freeman | Guardian (UK) | 5.6.02
Only children, so received wisdom has it, are spoilt and antisocial
- and now research suggests it may be true. Surely not, says Hadley
Freeman. click
here to read
China moves away from one-child policy
By John Gittings | Guardian (UK) | 27.7.02
China is starting to move away from its "one-child" policy
and compulsory birth quotas, just when Washington has denounced
it for carrying out "coercive abortion", international
experts say.
click here to read
Now we are one
By Alex Clark | Guardian (UK) | 18.12.02
One-child families are now commonplace. Great, says Alex Clark,
perhaps we can ditch the "spoilt only child" stereotypes.
click
here to read
Safety in numbers
By Rosie Millard | Observer (UK)| 11.8.02
For most of us, 1.8 children is more than enough. So why are some
people so keen to savage the national average? Rosie Millard makes
the case for bigger families. click
here to read
Are you an only child?
By Srimegani Sirisena | Daily Mirror | Young Mirror | 11.01.02
This is billed as an article for 'children only' and it's a lively
and cautionary warning to other children about letting their parents
stop at one child! click
here to read
Two-child families best at school
BBC News (UK) | 11.6.01
Children who have one brother or sister perform better at school
than only children or those from bigger families, suggest researchers.
Report on Maria Iacovou's study for University of Essex Institute
for Social and Economic Reseach (ISER). click
here to read | Report
The one and only
By Sue Summers | Observer (UK) | 10.6.01
They are the fastest-growing family group in American, and the figures
have never been higher: for many, it seems, the only child is the
only way to go. click
here to read
Lone stars
By Sandra Deeble | Observer (UK) | 10.6.01
Sandra Deeble talks one-on-one to four only children at different
stages of their lives. click
here to read
Birth order affects career interests, study shows
By Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State University | Ohio State Research
(US) | 22.2.01
Columbus, Ohio - a child's place in the family birth order may play
a role in the type of occupations that will interest him or her
as an adult, new research suggests. Report on study by Frederick
T. Leong and Paul Hartung, Northeastern Ohio Universities College
of Medicine [et al.]. Results published in "a recent issue"
of Journal of Career Assessment. click
here to read
Crowded houses
By Sarah Ebner | Guardian (UK) | 4.4.01
As the national birth rate shrinks ever faster, one demographic
is on the up - the number of families with three children. click
here to read
Family size and birth order: the impact on children's educational
outcomes
By Essex University Institute for Social and Economic Research
| ISER Press Information (UK) | 2001
What effect do the number of children in a family and a child's
postion in the birth order have on how well children do later in
school? Summary of ISER report: Family Composition and Children's
Educational Outcomes. click
here to read
Shrinking families: the empty nursery
Economist (UK) | 21.12.00
Growing up an only child, or with a single sibling, was once a rare
experience. No more. click
here to read
No more "lonely the only": parents of singletons lose
the guilt as kids, society adjust
By Karen S. Peterson | USA Today (US) | 2000
Increasing numbers of families are experiencing a type of new math:
one plus zero equals no guilt. They are finding that having an only
child is just fine. click
here to read
Just 500 Japanese. An empty Europe. The world dying out...
By Anthony Browne, Richard Reeves | Observer (UK) | 8.8.99
As fertility rates fall a "birth dearth" is spreading
... click
here to read
Compiled by Carole Farmer & Ann Richardson
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