The world today is facing an appreciable drop in global population due to declining birth rates. This growing phenomenon is here to stay as long as mankind continues to exist and remain indifferent towards having children. Increasingly, not having children has become a lifestyle choice for those in the first world.
Decades ago, traditional couples believed that having children is necessary so as to continue the family line. Others also saw the need to have children as they believed that they would be well taken care of in their old age. This mentality has led many families, especially those in rural areas or developing countries, to ensure that they have many children. The situation is different now. With financial independence, many couples believe that they can achieve their bucket-list faster if they remained a pair and avoided a 20-year commitment to raise children, or the prospect of doctor visits or paying for an education loan. Many see being childless as a worry-free life.
Women who do not have kids, tend to understand motherhood as all-encompassing and overwhelming responsibility—one that might interfere with their next promotion. The choice to be childfree gave women the freedom to work and men freedom from work. Research has shown that childless women end up just as satisfied with their lives in the end. The challenges of today’s world is far different from the past. As such, many prospective parents feel that they may not have the skills and ability to raise children. There is a general fear of not being mentally or emotionally equipped for parenthood.
People who have grown up in a confused or very liberal environment are also choosing not to have children. These groups opine that the best thing about being childfree is not having to think about anyone else in terms of choices that are made. Ultimately, the freedom to choose, one way or the other, is something we should celebrate. But just how free that choice actually is, when much of society still expects women to choose to be mothers, is something worth considering.
A growing contingent of young people are refusing to have kids — or are considering having fewer kids — because of climate change. The growing antinatalist movement is another factor that correlates with lifestyle choice. This philosophical movement based around the tenet that it is cruel to bring sentient lives, doomed to suffer into the world that is already suffering. They feel that people who have children by celebrating childbearing without acknowledging the consequences for themselves and the planet are doing injustice towards their progeny.
In conclusion, while some couples embrace having children, others view it as part of enhancing their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Reasons for having children have undoubtedly changed over the years, as people now do not only have children for the sake of completing their family portrait.