"Families have changed," said Newman. "I actually call the only child the 'new traditional family.'"

THE ONLY CHILD MYTH

After this topic was brought up during a casual gym workout discussion and I am haunted by the question, "are you going to have another?" and "Charlotte is going to be lonely on Christmas morning", I thought I would do a little research on this topic. 20/20 did an entire segment on this and sparked my curiosity as I am also an only child.

I believe it has its advantages and disadvantages as anything else has in life. Here is some interesting reading material.

Long List of StereotypesThe myth of the only child dates back to the late 1800s when G. Stanley Hall, known as the founder of child psychology, called being an only child "a disease in itself."

Susan Newman, a social psychologist at Rutgers University and the author of "Parenting an Only Child," says the myth has been perpetuated ever since. "People articulate that only children are spoiled, they're aggressive, they're bossy, they're lonely, they're maladjusted," she said. "And the list goes on and on and on."

But is there any science that makes the stereotype stick? "No," Newman said. "There have been hundreds and hundreds of research studies that show that only children are no different from their peers."

In order to find out for ourselves, "20/20" gathered a group of onlies in New York and asked them whether they thought the stereotype is true.

"I'm an only child. I don't think I'm that bossy," Corinne said, and 16-year-old Ben said, "I'm sure there is but it's not because … they're only children. I mean, it depends on the parents. If the parents are indulgent parents you can have 30 kids, they're all gonna be overindulged."

While a battery of studies shows no difference with onlies when it comes to bossiness or acting spoiled, it turns out there is a significant difference when it comes to intelligence. A landmark 20-year study showed that increased one-on-one parenting produces higher education levels, higher test scores and higher levels of achievement.

One-on-One Time

What explains that apparent advantage? Newman says, "They have all their parents financial resources to get them extra lessons, to get them SAT training but more critical is the one-on-one time at the dinner table."

A generation ago, only 10 percent of families had only children. Today that percentage has more than doubled. And it's no wonder — it costs between $200,000 and $300,000 to raise one child to the age of 17, and that's not including the cost of college.Which means more reading time, more homework time and eventually better test scores. Hult said of her son, "I think we felt as a family that we were able to give him more attention and spend more time together and really focus on him."

"Families have changed," said Newman. "I actually call the only child the 'new traditional family.'"

And yet, despite the explosion of families with onlies, a recent poll suggests only 3 percent of Americans believe one is an ideal number. Could it be that the myth of the only child persists?

What the research shows

Some research has shown that only children are:

• more highly motivated to academic achievement
• have higher self esteem
• have better relationships with parents.

Only children are similar to children in bigger families in generosity, popularity, leadership, independence or anxiety levels.

Research indicates that an only child may be:

• verbally advanced
• better off in education
• more likely to learn to do things by himself and to learn to like to do things that you do alone.

On the negative side the only child may find it hard at first to relate to other children and to manage aggression.

On the positive side an only child may:

• enjoy solitude and peace
• live in a household that lacks the chaos of larger households
• develop escape strategies such as reading
• have the undivided attention of parents.

However, you can't tell what it will be like for any particular child from this research. Children vary a lot in their temperament (some are shy and some are confident), and some households are noisy even when there is only one child, while others are peaceful even when there are several.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?