Not so very long ago, if you went outside in most neighborhoods in the summer, you would see dozens of children of all ages running around and having fun. Today, the streets are a lot quieter. Of course, more kids are staying inside and playing video games than ever before, but another cause of this is that there are simply fewer children.

Throughout most of history, the trajectory of most people’s lives would include a childhood, followed by getting married relatively young (by today’s standards), have children, grow old, and die. Today, however, the number of people following this path is plummeting.

According to a study that is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the percentage of Americans who are choosing to actively avoid having children has gone from 14% in 2002 all the way to 29% in 2023. Note that these are not people who are unable to have children for some reason, but those who choose not to.

In a statement about the study, Jennifer Watling Neal, who is a professor in the psychology department at Michigan State University, and the co-author of the study, said:

“We found that the percentage of nonparents who don’t want any children rose from 14 percent in 2002 to 29 percent in 2023. During the same period, the percent of nonparents who plan to have children in the future fell from 79 percent to 59 percent.”

There are many reasons that people give for not wanting to have children. Financial issues are a big contributor, the state of the world, the environment, and more. Of course, there are also some more frivolous reasons including things like wanting a more active social life, focusing on a career, and hating the idea of being woken up several times per night to feed a crying child.

For many people, the idea of not having children just seems better. The question, however, is will it be better.

While the benefits are undeniable in many cases, many people avoiding children don’t look at the potential downsides. Neal pointed out one example of this:

“Childfree adults have needs for long-term contraception and for retirement planning that doesn’t assume having heirs but medical and financial service providers often aren’t equipped to meet these needs.”

Those issues can be overcome, but they do need to be taken account of. Many people report that as they get older, they put a stronger importance on things like passing on the family name or seeing your family continue into the future. It is easy for people in their 20’s to discount this type of thing now, but when they enter their 40’s and 50’s (by which time it is at the very least, much more difficult to start a family) their opinions may change.

There is no shortage of people who are now entering retirement age who, whether intentionally or not, didn’t have any children. Many of them do indeed report a feeling of having missed out on one of the most important things in life. Of course, there are some others who say they are very happy with their decision.

On a more societal level, our world is largely set up on the assumption that the population will continue to grow. For example, people pay into social security now to pay for the retirees, and since there are many more younger people than retirees, the system can work. When there aren’t enough young people paying in, however, the system can’t support itself.

This is also an issue with so many people retiring and not enough young people to replace them. Some of these issues are overcome with technology and automation, but that may not always be enough.

So, whether you have decided to have kids or to avoid them, it is important to look closely at both the pros and cons of each option, and plan for the future.

Will you be having children?

If not, you’re definitely not alone.

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