Childlessless at record high in U.S.

[Political Tiger]

A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that childlessness is at a record high in America. One in five women aged 40 to 44 reported that they've never had children. Meanwhile, just 41 percent of Americans say having children is necessary to a good marriage, compared to 65 percent in 1990.

The study suggests that the two trends may well arise form relaxed social pressure about having kids.

In a striking shift, women with advanced degrees are bucking the no-babies trend, with a higher percentage of them having children than in years past. Though childlessness as a whole is still highest among women with advanced degrees, rates of childlessness among women with masters' degrees decreased by 17 percent since 1994. It also declined by 32 percent for women with professional and doctorate degrees over the same period. Nine percent of all women held advanced degrees in 2008.

Meanwhile, the rate of childlessness has increased most sharply among the least educated women. The likelihood that a woman without a high school diploma will be childless after 40 has increased 66 percent since 1994. Though white women are most likely to be childless, rates of childlessness among Hispanics and blacks have increased by 30 percent since 1994, compared to only 11 percent for white women.

"Social pressure to bear children appears to have diminished for women and that today, the decision to have a child is seen as an individual choice," Pew researchers Gretchen Livingston and D'Vera Cohn write. "Improved opportunities and contraceptive methods help create alternatives for women."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100625/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2859;_ylt=AsBondtFl8JL_8LaVcbFcghk24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTM0bDJwczY3BGFzc2V0A3luZXdzLzIwMTAwNjI1L3luZXdzX3RzMjg1OQRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzQEcG9zAzQEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNyZXBvcnRjaGlsZGw-

[Warpy]

1. Social pressure to bear children hasn't decreased

but financial pressures against the whole idea certainly have.

[REP]

4. There is more support for women who choose to say No to motherhood

When I was in my 20s, I didn't know any women like me. 20 years later, we're everywhere, and not making excuses anymore.

[niyad]

11. same here, only many years earlier. I never made excuses, and have never

regretted my decision. To this day, I give thanks for a little book called "the baby trap" by ellen peck, which let me know that I wasn't alone, or weird, or selfish.

as I pointed out to people, when I felt like saying anything, was that I don't have a maternal atom in my body--so why should I inflict me on a child?

[REP]

16. My book was GB Shaw's "Getting Married"

Shaw and his wife especially were Childfree. I had come to realize I didn't want children when I was 9, some 36 years ago now, and that play and The Bob Newhart Show were my early models of life without children.

[Warpy]

24. Well, we're 20 years older and the people who pressured us

in our youth realize our biological clocks have not only run down, they've fallen completely apart beyond retrieval. We're also not as defensive as we once were and much more ready to tell people to butt out and mind their own damned business.

Kids in their 20s now are still getting pressured.

[seabeyond]

25. i didnt get married until 32. kid at 33. i dont think i ever had anyone ask me about it

let alone pressure. that was in 80's and part of 90's.

[Warpy]

26. Had you not produced a kid right away

you would have been.

[seabeyond]

28. ah. it is the marriage without child that does it huh? i have always wondered

listening to women talk about the pressure of having kids.... but then i should have had pressure to marry and i never did. i wasnt receptive or interested. maybe that is why i never got comment on being single.

but i guess that makes sense not being pressured for not having kids. i wasnt married.

ok

thanks

[REP]

33. I hope it's not as bad as it was; I admit my evidence is largely anecdotal

My anecdotal evidence is from women (and men) in that age group who finding easIER - not easy! - to get sterilized and are getting less hassle from family, strangers and doctors than peers 15+ years older.

It still happens, of course; I don't look my age and I still hear I'll "change my mind." I've had a tubal ligation, a uterine ablation and senility doesn't run in my family! :)

[Missy Vixen]

40. You're right about people backing off

>We're also not as defensive as we once were and much more ready to tell people to butt out and mind their own damned business.<

Most of the time, I blow it off. People want to talk about their own kids, and they're just asking to be polite. I also discovered that the parents who were the most unhappy about their choices were the most invested in my "changing my mind". After all, I would "never know true love/joy". I was "selfish". Who would take care of us "when we got old"? I love that latter argument.

Our grandma had a massive stroke four months ago. She's been in a skilled nursing facility ever since, full of other elderly people, who sit alone day after day.

The people who still get in my face are very politely told it's not a topic for discussion.

[Mimosa]

2. Meanwhile, the rate of childlessness has increased most sharply among the least educated women

I think this change is because of the economy.

Before, more educated feminist types chose not to have children. Some regretted their choices later, many didn't.

[REP]

6. Or even the less educated are better educated than in prior generations

Increased education is usually associated with decreased birthrates.

[supernova]

3. I prefer "childfree"

myself. "Childessness" implies there's something missing in my life. Not true.

[REP]

5. +Everything, -Nothing

Childfree here too, though this study may encompass some who are childless.

[Hissyspit]

9. +1

[Lorien]

30. +1. The more humans choose to be childfree

be better it will be for future generations. The earth can't endure much more pillaging and destruction.

[Eyerish]

36. +1

Deciding not to have children was the best decision my partner and I could make, for ourselves and our planet.

[Bonobo]

46. Yes, and "childfree" implies we are prisoners of our children.

I do not consider children to be a chain around me, so the term "childfree" is offensive.

If you want to play silly word games, two can play.

[Missy Vixen]

7. I didn't have a baby because I didn't want one

As REP has mentioned, my decision was almost unheard-of 20 years ago. We know multiple other couples who made the same decision, and do not regret it at all.

[REP]

12. No regrets here, either

I have a study on my computer (I'm posting on my phone) that shows we're not anomalies, either.

[HipChick]

13. Me either...I knew from when I was 16 that I didn't want any

[REP]

20. I was 9; 36 years later still haven't changed my mind!

[eShirl]

14. Remember the acronym they used to use for couples like yours and mine?

D.I.N.K.s (double income, no kids)

[Scout]

15. proud DINK here! n/t

edit proud not pround

[REP]

17. I like THINKer

Two Healthy Incomes, No Kids

[SPedigrees]

21. It wasn't unheard of. I had a number of friends in the early 1970s

who, like myself, decided not to have children. None of us changed or regretted our decisions in later years. I lived in a progressive urban area in the northeast (Boston) then so perhaps attitudes back then varied according to geographic location.

[REP]

35. Doing the family tree, I found a number of CF relatives (obviously, not direct ancestors)

A few wanted children but couldn't, but there is evidence that some were deliberately childfree; this was in the 1800s! This does coincide with a wave of feminism; I wonder if it had reached Iowa?

[azmouse]

8. Infertility is also on the rise.

In my twenties I didn't want children and I wasn't going to be pressured into having them.
When I tried to get pregnant in my thirties I found I couldn't have children.
Worked out ok though. I have a great life as it is. Didn't need kids to make me happy... or unhappy. Whatever.

[SoCalDem]

10. Not surprised a bit.

Child raising is hard work..and takes a LOT of time, money & effort..to do it correctly

People often view their own child-rearing experiences through the lens of their own childhoods.

If they grew up shuttled from one sitter-pre school to another, and only saw their parents as frazzled unavailable people who seemed to not enjoy being parents..well that could affect their own choices to NOT have kids.

If they grew up feeling deprived or were abused, they may also not see the parenting thing as all that interesting to them.

Parenting costs a lot of money, and if responsible people decide to "wait", they may just wait too long, or become so set in their own ways, that children are no longer on their "to do" list.

People are leaving school with shitloads of debt, and often cannot afford to live on their own until they are nearly 30, and later marriages or no marriages, often means that there are no children.

The older prospective parents often see their friends who did have kids, and realize how constricted their lives are..and they may decide to stay the "auntie/uncle" and forego the Mommy-Daddy roles.

[Missy Vixen]

39. I was fairly insulted to see the "not grown up yet" earlier today

I had what my husband refers to as a "horrific" childhood. I think it made me a stronger person. My parents were both gone by the time I was 30, and I mediated the family squabbles over who got what. I didn't need to give birth to be a "grownup". I might even go so far as to suggest that I gave more consideration to the idea of not having children than most of our friends who have kids gave to getting pregnant.

It would be nice if there was as much of a focus on not having children as having them. Then again, there are many industries that thrive off of the vast majority having a baby, aren't there?

[glen123098]

18. childbirth has to decrease because the world can't sustain to many more people,

especially resource hogs like we are here in America. I have no children and got a vasectomy. I do not want to contribute to overpopulation. If I ever wanted a kid, I would choose adoption.

[SPedigrees]

22. Yes, I feel that not reproducing was my greatest gift

to the environment.

[Lorien]

31. ...

:thumbsup:

[seabeyond]

19. 4 of my 6 female cousins havent had kids. they are hitting 50. nt

[defendandprotect]

23. And that would seem to be despite the extreme backlash against the campaign to

lower population --

Patriarchal religion went nuts --

Pretty much brought the campaign to a halt --

[demigoddess]

27. fewer children is a sign of a wealthier and healthier nation

something the republicans just can't understand. I read in newsweek that a result of their one-child policy China has fewer workers and people are demanding better wages. I had to wonder if the republicans oppose abortion for that reason. fewer children lead to higher wages and unions. I'm aghast!!!

[seabeyond]

29. also killed off so many girls babies, this generation is going to have to ship in women

in order to mate/marry.

[classof56]

32. I commend those women who chose to be "child free"

For far too many years (centuries?) it was common "wisdom" that a woman was not "fulfilled" until she gave birth as often as possible. Won't go into all the rhetoric floating around that notion, but one of the most prevalent ideas was that a woman/couple choosing not to have children were horribly selfish. Go figure that! In 1970, after reading Paul Ehrlich's "Population Bomb" my spouse and I took the ZPG pledge to reproduce only ourselves (one child each). This was just before the birth of our second child. We kept the pledge, and today our daughters are 42 and 40, one is child free and will remain that way, the other has two teenagers. My spouse and I feel it's our small contribution to taking a shot at sustaining Mother Earth, but in retrospect, knowing what I know now and what's ahead for our offspring/grandchildren, I believe I'd have chosen not to have children, feeling as if I've done them no favors. Mind you, I adore and treasure all of them, am proud of them and glad to have them in my life, but as I contemplate the way things are, again, I commend those women and men who chose not to reproduce themselves. Mother Earth thanks you!

Blessings upon us all.

[REP]

34. If I may be so impudent, thank YOU! for not pressuring your CF kid!

My mom didn't pressure me one way or the other, and I know how helpful and freeing that is!

[classof56]

43. You are not impudent at all, and thank you for the affirmation.

Actually, I'd have been fine if my daughters never married, either, and did not pressure them to do so. And much as I love and enjoy hanging with my teenage grandsons when I have the chance, I'm pretty sure my free spirit would have soared nicely if they weren't a part of the equation. Hope that does not sound awful! Glad you are following your path, and your mom's there to love and support whatever you do.

:toast: to you and your excellent mom!

Class of 56

[eridani]

37. Women with advanced degrees are the only ones who can afford kids

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0106.mencimer.html

But the idea that mass childlessness is the product of a "lifestyle choice" or a political movement defies common sense. We are, after all, highly evolved primates. Reproductive instincts are hard wired in our brains, and historically, only events of serious magnitude---wars, depressions, famine, and seismic shifts in the economic system, such as the industrial revolution---have caused large numbers of women to forgo having children. When resources are scarce, and when they don't have much help, women will postpone motherhood. And despite the romantic myth of the self-sacrificing mother, if given the option, most women will choose to advance their own position before bearing more children. That's because in the long run, a woman's improved status benefits her children. It's a pattern replicated all over the natural world, and has been for thousands of years.

Our failure to recognize this pattern---and the systemic changes manifested as individual decisions---has serious implications for the future. Many people will argue that a lower birth rate is a good thing for an overpopulated planet---and they will be right, up to a point. It's the forces driving widespread childlessness that should concern us. America's disappearing children are the canaries in our coal mines, a warning that our social and economic system is seriously out of whack.

<snip>

The ambitious woman trading family for power isn't the portrait of the fastest- growing group of the country's childless, though. According to the Census Bureau, the largest increase in childlessness occurred among women without college degrees. While the percentage of childless women with college degrees rose from 25 percent in 1980 to 28.6 percent in 1998, the percentage of childless women with a high school diploma and some college jumped from 9.2 to 17.7 percent.

These women look a lot like my sister. She is 29, married for almost three years, and would very much like to have a baby but can't afford to. When she says she can't afford children, it's not because she wants to trade up for a nicer car first or that she's trying to make partner at Arnold & Porter. Her problem is more fundamental. Like most Americans, she does not have a college degree; and her long-time job as a travel agent doesn't pay very well. Nor does it offer even unpaid maternity leave.

[krabigirl]

38. The thing that concerns me is that the educated aren't having kids, while the morans are having tons

[Warren DeMontague]

41. I commend people who choose not to have kids. And I commend people who choose TO have them.

I'm not so arrogant as to try to claim that either position is morally superior.

I know what my decision was, I respect the right of other people to theirs.

[LWolf]

42. A step in the right direction. nt

[Nikki Stone1]

44. It sounds economic. Wages have stagnated over the last 30 years

It's only getting worse. Many people simply cannot afford children. This explains the increase in childlessness among low income women and the decrease in high income women with advanced degrees.

[area51]

47. +1 (n/t)

[chowder66]

45. Replied to another post on overpopulation...

Something to keep an eye on....

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2010/04/19/population_crash_ext2010

.....But according to the veteran environmental writer Fred Pearce, they’re all wrong. In his latest book, "The Coming Population Crash: And Our Planet's Surprising Future," Pearce argues that the world’s population is peaking. In the next century, we’re heading not for exponential growth, but a slow, steady decline. This, he claims, has the potential to massively change both our society and our planet: Children will become a rare sight, patriarchal thinking will fall by the wayside, and middle-aged culture will replace our predominant youth culture. Furthermore, Pearce explains, the population bust could be the end of our environmental woes. Fewer people making better choices about consumption could lead to a greener, healthier planet



I don't know if this is valid but I sure hope so.

much more at the link