I'm Neil McCarthy and just before this podcast starts I want to let you know that all 10 episodes of Death in Ice Valley

are now available to listen to and download. That's the whole series of what has already become our most popular ever new podcast.

I'm one of the presenters and I go on a journey through Europe and back in time to the Cold War.

It's an investigation into a life and a death.

If you haven't heard it yet, you can now listen to it all.

Search for Death in Ice Valley wherever you found this podcast.

I'm at the station and I'm about to get on a train home to ask my parents something.

I've never asked them before.

I'm an only child and I don't know why.

I'm really close to my parents but for some reason

we never talked about why they didn't have any more kids. Well this evening that's

going to change. There's a lot of belief that only children probably will grow up to be selfish and have lingering loneliness problems and overall will be maladjusted.

But the number of times people would say to me oh yes of course that's because she's

an only isn't it and these these assumptions about only children are terrible.

I've never had so many terrible.

I've never had so many reactions as to when I told people I just wanted one child. And people were offended almost.

Like they reacted really, really strongly like you cannot know that. You can't know that. Oh, some lower down. Now doing this so much good.

People often think there's something a bit weird about only children.

But despite this, they are becoming more common and I want to know why.

I'm Harriet Noble and the reaction I most often get when I tell someone I'm an only child is, oh, you don't seem like one. I think they mean it as a compliment, and that makes me so angry.

What do you mean? I ask straight back, and they usually mumble something like, you seem normal or your sociable.

The stereotype of the lonely, selfish and spoiled only child was fueled by the eminent American child

...