Voluntary Childlessness

“There has been an unprecedented decline in childbearing in the Untied States over the last decade and a half. This change has been attributed to a number of factors, such as later marriage, fewer marriages, higher levels of female employment and education, and most remarkably, an apparent increase in voluntary childlessness” (Silka and Kiesler: 1). “The voluntary childless are those who do not have children, expect none, and have no known biological impediment to childbearing, or have been sterilized for contraceptive reasons” (Abma and Peterson 1995). These individuals have many personal, economic, and monetary reasons for a childless marriage and the majority of these women fit into one of four categories; practical, hedonists, idealistic, and emotional. Although, these couples vary in their reasons for not wanting children they have carefully examined the pros and cons of a childless family and made their choices accordingly.

Couples today are less sure about the rationale for having children. In former times (and in many non-western cultures today), children were seen as playing an important role in the continuance of family. Children may have been needed for kinship ties, to work on the family business, to look after parents in their old age, or to safeguard an inheritance. Presently, in Western society, the economy and the interests of industry have generally taken precedence over parenting and the interests of family (http:/wwwcfi.ie/feb2001/crisis.htm 3).

There are two categories of women who wish to remain childless, as identified by Baum, which fit into this particular scenario. The first group of women falls under the heading of “practical”. They have a practical reason for being childless, such as a desire to pursue their career without the interference of a family life, or the fear of passing on a genetic defect. The second group of women who share this viewpoint are “hedonists”. These women choose to remain childless through a desire to preserve their standard of living and who are unwilling to invest either time or money into raising children (Baum 1994).

Working parents with children are faced with limited daycare options, lack of quality time with their children, and less influence over their child’s developing values. These difficulties alone may be enough in order to discourage many couples from having chil...

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... in their old age (http://femrhet.cla.umn.edu/proposals/gillespir_rosemary.htm).

The prominent view of children as a status symbol and a social identity still lives on to a certain extent. Married couples are still “expected” to have children. Although, voluntary childlessness became more acceptable in the 1980’s, couples still feel the social pressure to have children (especially from family members). When deciding whether to bear children or to remain childless, couples must sort through many variables in order to make a unanimous choice on the issue. Having children brings with it large opportunity costs for working mothers. In most cases, they must choose between putting their careers on hold for at least six years or placing their child in the hands of a full time caregiver. Children also bring additional expenses, responsibility, and consumption of free time to the family environment. For some couples, this choice is simple because they may not have the desire to bring a child into this already overpopulated world or they may not have any interest in becoming a parent, but for others this choice is a difficult one.