Reply to Millennial women are saying no thanks to parenthood

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Raising kids has always been difficult and lots of work.  Difference is whereas people in the old days knew they needed kids (to support them in old age, to have family support in general), people today don't think they need kids anymore.  They think because they have their degrees and hobbies and friends, they don't need family or kids anymore.  There is an argument that the bigger the govt safety net, the less people think they need family (and kids).  So while kids have always been a tremendous sacrifice, the cost analysis just isn't there anymore.

Caveat that i'm talking about millennials in general. On individual level, I recognize many would love to have kids but just never found the right partner.  But as a generation, if enough people feel like they can be comfortable and happy and self sufficient without family, then the rate of coupling/marriage will go down. [/quote]

For this to be true, the increase in childlessness is driven by a decrease in the perceived “need” to have children.  But how many of us parents or would-be parents on DCUM would put ourselves in the category of pursuing parenthood out of need vs. because we knew we would “love to have kids”?  I think basically zero.  So if basically none of the parents on DCUM had kids out of need, then it doesn’t seem that PP’s theory does much to explain millennials’ behavior vs. Gen X or boomers.

[b]If you loved being a kid, I think it’s natural to want to have kids and to look forward to the raising-kids life stage.  Maybe there’s data to show that millennials didn’t love being kids themselves as much as previous generations.  Could that be because amongst millennials there are more children of divorce, children of addiction, children with absent fathers, children of bankruptcy, fewer free-range children, etc.?  That’s my theory.[/b][/quote]

In my experience it's because millennials have siblings/close friends that have died from gun violence, cancer or other childhood illnesses. [/quote]

This is a really unusual experience…I’m a millennial and don’t know anyone who died of gun violence or a childhood illness. If you ask any of my friends they *might* be able to name one person. I grew up a middle class white kid. Almost everyone I know had a great childhood and wants kids. I know two or three child free by choice couples and it has nothing to do with their childhood, they just don’t want to sacrifice their lifestyle and would rather be aunts and uncles. [/quote]

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