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AUSTRALIAN couples are increasingly having only one child, many so that they can "get ahead".The percentage of couples having only one child increased from 8 per cent in 1991 to 11 per cent in 2001, and should be 15 per cent by 2021, according to a study published in the independent academic magazine Journal of Population Research.Report author Nick Parr, a senior lecturer in demography at Macquarie University, said many couples were choosing to have one child because they believed single children were "higher quality" and more likely to succeed with more parental attention.Dr Parr's study of nearly 2000 Australian women aged 40 to 54 shows those who spend more time at university and don't go to Catholic schools are more likely than others to stop at just one child.Although they can afford more children, many are choosing not to have them because they are intent on "getting ahead", he found."It may be that women who attended non-government, non-Catholic schools are more likely to aspire to 'higher quality' children and, perhaps, to send every one of their children to such schools."Single children gain higher than average educational achievements, income and wealth," Dr Parr said."This reflects the time, energy and material resources which their parents can give to them being undiluted by the competing demands of siblings."Progression from one to two children has ramifications for family budgets, parental time use and the socialisation and wellbeing of the existing child."China's controversial one-child policy is also affecting the Australian fertility rate.Australian women born in South-East Asia, particularly China, are more likely to have just one child.Some of these women may have been sterilised, or coerced in their birth country, but Dr Parr said some genuinely preferred only one child.Women who were not married at the time of the first birth are also more likely to stop at one child, reflecting the greater instability of non-marriage relationships.Fitzroy North mother Rebecca Lange, 37, chose to only have one child - son, Zak, 6 - but she does not think many of the study's findings apply to her."It's not about how many children you have. It's about how much you love and support them," Ms Lange said."My husband David and I only ever wanted to have one child - it was an innate thing for us."Our decision wasn't about getting ahead because children will develop according to their own needs. It's not about what we buy for them."
As in the days of Noah....
