The current trend of one child families in Britain has some people worried, as experts believe that by 2022, more than half of British families will fall into that category. This is based on past statistics that reveal that the number of single-child families has grown by almost 12 percent in the last decade alone.

The proportion of parents stopping at one child is already at 47 per cent, and in regards to the opinion of sociologists, this would finally lead to a figure that would soon pass the 50 percent mark.

Professor Frank Furedi, a sociologist at Kent University and author of 'Paranoid Parenting', has put it this way, "the number of families with one child in Britain will be more than half within seven years. ... For many people, having one child is like an insurance policy... It fulfills their need to carry on the bloodline without having to make as much commitment."

The figures released by the Office for National Statistics' study on families and households, show that the trend is affecting all types of families. The proportion of married couples with one child grew from 37 percent to 40 percent in the decade between 2003 and 2013.

The trend has been observed among unmarried cohabiting couples with one child - this increased from 51 percent to 53 percent in the same period, while single parents with one child jumped from 52 percent to 58 percent.

The fact remains that while small families do better because they do not have to share resources, there are obvious drawbacks.

Professor Ann Buchanan, an expert in social work at Oxford University, has clarified that research in China has revealed that most children from single child families do exceedingly well. But, there is concern about higher suicide rates because the pressure on the single child is greater and could, over a period of time, give rise to mental health problems.