14 Common Economic Reasons Cited for Being Voluntary Childless (From Wikipedia)
~ Saturday, November 26, 2022 Blog Post ~
Like what I’ve said in my previous blog posts, I am not interested to become a parent. I’m interested in using my precious time and hard-earned money for my personal development.
I have a book I purchased in 2006 titled, “The Childless Revolution” by Madelyn Cain which explores the childfree life. It mentioned something about choosing childlessness due to one’s care for the environment.
Anyway, I’m interested in the economic aspect of voluntary childlessness. Based on a Wikipedia definition, voluntary childlessness means, “the voluntary choice to not have children.” It is also called being childfree. Supporters of the voluntary childless lifestyle cite the following economic and cultural reasons for their view:
1. Modern welfare programs negate the need for children, some argue (Economic reason);
2. Rejection of the claim that the country’s economy is at risk if some people do not procreate (Economic);
3. Belief that very few parents actually have children in order to support the country’s economy (Cultural);
4. Burden of taxes and debt (Economic);
> Some use the term “wage slaves” when referring to having to pay taxes to support welfare programs such as pensions.
> Student debts, a serious problem among Millennials and Generation Z in the United States, discourage many from having children.
5. Stagnant or falling wages at the same time as high cost of living (Economic);
6. Rising cost of raising a child as a society industrializes and urbanizes (Economic);
> In an agrarian society, children are a source of labor and thus income for the family. But as it shifts towards industries other than agriculture and as more people relocate to the cities, children become a net sink of parental resources. This is known as the (first) demographic transition.
7. Being busy with work (Cultural);
8. Unwillingness to pay the cost of raising a child (Economic);
> For example, according to Statistics Netherlands and the National Institute for Budgetary Information (Nibud), raising a child cost an average of €120,000 from birth to age 18, or about 17% of one’s disposable income as of 2019.
> Inability to pay the cost of raising a child;
> Hard to arrange, or pay for, child care;
> Parental leaves are non-existent or too short;
> Expensive (higher) education;
> Not having a support network, especially when one is or risks becoming a single parent;
9. Living in a time of pestilence or economic recession (Economic);
10. Changing cultural attitude towards children (known as the second demographic transition) (Cultural);
> A result of women’s liberation, education, and rising workforce participation;
Women no longer need to marry and bear children in order to be economically secure.
> Transition from traditional and communal values towards expressive individualism;
In the West, adherents of the countercultural or feminist movements in the 1960s and 1970s typically had no children.
> Growing awareness that childbearing is a choice;
> Declining support for traditional gender roles, and that people need to have children in order to be complete or successful;
11. Unwillingness to burden one’s children with such care, or preventing a situation in which one’s premature death will orphan one’s children (at too young an age), or cause them too much sorrow at one’s deathbed (Cultural);
12. No need for care by one’s own children when one is old or close to dying (Cultural);
> One can be cared for by the modern welfare state (including the establishment of retirement homes).
> Having no children allows one to save more money for retirement.
> Having children is not a guaranteed safety net for parent-child relations which might be strained.
13. Ability to donate one’s inheritance to a charity of one’s own choice instead of having to divide it amongst one’s children (Cultural); and
14. Greater interest in and affordability of pets compared to children (Economic);
I agree with most of these economic and cultural perspectives when it comes to my decision of preferring voluntary childlessness over parenthood. I am a practical millennial and I want to enjoy the rest of my life without having any dependents.
I also want to include the following common personal and social reasons cited by people who opt for voluntary childlessness as I can relate with them:
1. Simply not wanting to have children (Personal reason);
2. Availability of effective contraception or sterilization makes the choice to remain voluntarily childless easier (Social reason);
3. Positive attitudes and lack of regret of people who chose to not have children (Social);
4. Other possibilities in life opening up due to the lack of children (Social);
5. Lack of a suitable partner or difficulty getting married (Social);
6. Unwillingness to sacrifice freedom and independence to rearing children (Personal);
7. Unwillingness to give up the current lifestyle (Personal);
8. Preference of pursuing personal development to raising children (Personal);
9. Refusal to have one’s needs and wants subjugated by those of someone else (Personal);
10. Unwillingness to disrupt one’s current work and private home life (Personal);
11. Career orientation and intellectual pursuits, which may be at odds with parenthood (Personal);
12. Preventing long-term disruption of sleep by crying young children at night (Social);
13. Not having to repeatedly clean up a child’s mess (Personal);
14. Dislike of young children’s behavior and/or language (Social);
15. The view that children are egocentric and difficult to handle (Social);
16. Fear that sexual activity may decline (Personal);
17. A long-term relationship or marriage might be in danger due to the stress created by children (Personal).
18. Possibility of sexual activity without the need, risk, or willingness to get pregnant by using birth control (Personal);
19. Concerns over the effects pregnancy has on the woman’s body (weight gain, stretch marks, drooping breasts, hyperpigmentation on the face, looser pelvic muscles leading to reduced sexual pleasure for both the woman and her partner, hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence, death, among others);
20. Not feeling the ‘biological clock’ ticking and having no maternal or paternal instincts or drives (Psychological);
21. Fear and/or revulsion towards the physical condition of pregnancy (tokophobia), the childbirth experience, and recovery (for example the erosion of physical desirability) (Psychological);
22. Fear of a long-term stressful responsibility and performance anxiety (Psychological);
23. Ability to invest some of the time and money saved by not raising children to other socially meaningful purposes (Philosophical);
24. Belief that one can make an even greater contribution to humanity through one’s work than through having children (for example by working for or donating to charities) (Philosophical);
25. The opinion that not having children is no more selfish than having them (Philosophical);
26. Belief in a negative, declining condition of the world and culture and in the need to avoid subjecting a child to those negative conditions (Philosophical);
> This includes concerns that calamitous events — effects of global warming, war, or famine — might be likely to occur within the lifetime of one’s children and cause their suffering and/or death.
27. Rejection of the common argument that a woman who does not have children is “missing out” or will be more motivated at some undefined time (Philosophical);
28. The view that one’s friendships and relationships with adults are sufficient for one’s own happiness (Philosophical);
29. Belief that one is not ‘missing out’ on any of the alleged benefits of parenthood as long as one does not know what parenthood is like (Philosophical); and
30. Belief that people tend to have children for the wrong reasons (e.g. fear, social pressures from cultural norms) (Philosophical).
I also want to share this related article about how aging is accelerated in mothers:
Women with Kids Age Fastest, According to Science
By Power of Positivity, November 7, 2022
You may be like countless other women who are concerned about the effects of aging. The appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, aches, and pains are inevitable reminders of life’s brevity. Who knew that having children may also put a few extra years on your time clock?
Do Mothers Age Faster?
Many say there is no higher calling than being a mother. Even though raising your kids can sometimes be frustrating, you wouldn’t trade them for the world. However, some scientific evidence may agree when you say that your children are turning your hair prematurely gray.
A study compares mothers to women who do not have children. The outcome, they say, shows how women with children may age approximately eleven years faster than their childless peers. It all concerns a compound called telomeres and how it affects DNA and aging cells.
This premature aging appears to be greater than in studies concerning female obesity and smoking. After reading this information, you may be hesitant to become a mother if you aren’t already. However, the article quickly indicates that this study doesn’t have the last word.
It also discusses the study’s primary author, Anna Pollock. According to Pollock and her colleagues, the study should be interpreted cautiously. Other factors affect aging, and more research about telomeres is needed. Regardless, it is fascinating data to consider.
The article includes a study published by PLOSone that contradicts the first one. After studying a community of Mayan women, the evidence suggests that the more children they have, the longer the telomere molecules. The study concludes that such a condition could delay the effects of cellular aging.
Negative Health Risks of Motherhood
Having your babies was probably the happiest moment of your life. When they put that little one in your arms for the first time, the pain of labor was worth it. You probably never thought of the risks you take for being a mom.
1. Pregnancy and Childbirth
If you’ve ever been pregnant, you know how challenging it can be for your body. Statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control state that childbearing is the sixth leading cause of death among American women. It was among the past centuries’ top reasons for female mortality worldwide.
So, pregnancy and birthing a child are risks in themselves. The good news is that most mothers are still happy and healthy after birth. Thanks to advances in medicine and technology, childbirth isn’t as risky as it once was.
2. Stress of Child Rearing on Women
Talk to any woman with children, and you’ll get the same response. Although they adore their kids and would give their lives for them, they’re still nerve-racking. Not only do you have the stress of childbirth, but also the stress of raising them.
According to a study published by The National Library of Medicine, women with children report a higher stress level than those without children. Chronic stress can lead to physical and mental health disorders. The possible risks are diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and premature aging.
3. Women with Kids Face a Higher Risk of Obesity
Once you’ve carried and birthed a child, your figure will probably never be the same. It’s not unusual for a mother to gain thirty to forty pounds during pregnancy. You may also experience an extended abdomen, swollen feet and hands, stretch marks, and possibly hemorrhoids.
Maybe you were able to lose that weight gain and return to your pre-pregnancy weight.
An article published by the National Library of Medicine offers promising news. Most mothers lose half of their pregnancy weight about six weeks after giving birth.
Unfortunately, having children lead some mothers on the path to obesity. An article published by Preventative Medicine states that obesity is often a complaint of younger mothers with several children. Of course, obesity is a leading cause of many life-threatening diseases.
4. Changes in the Feet of Women
If you had problems during your pregnancy, like water retention or pre-eclampsia, your feet might have stayed swollen. After you have your baby, the cute little pumps you wore before pregnancy may no longer fit. It’s common, says an article published by the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
Pregnant mothers often develop permanent loss of arch height, explains the article. Therefore, it makes your foot a bit longer, and you may need a larger shoe size. More research is required to learn how to prevent this change.
Possible Negative Effects of Going Childless
Thank goodness that a woman’s worth doesn’t hinge on her ability to have children anymore. Today, thousands of females enjoy a beautiful and satisfying life without being a mother. It can be a medical reason or even more so by choice.
Some ladies just aren’t born with a maternal instinct. Many would rather dote on their nieces and nephews instead of having their own little ones. Some women have zero tolerance for kids’ antics, so they choose not to have any.
Some studies suggest that a woman without children may live longer than a mother with children. Also, you may not have the stress of raising them. However, going childless may also have possible health risks.
An article published by Johnson Memorial Health says that women who have never given birth are more at risk for breast cancer. They may also be more susceptible to ovarian, endometrial, and uterine tumors. Medical experts say that more research is needed.
Possible Health Benefits of Childbirth for Women
As a mother, you probably wouldn’t have chosen not to have children, regardless of the risks. Even if your child-free peers lived longer, you wouldn’t trade one of your kids for immortality. Besides the joy your children bring to your heart, there are other benefits to consider.
1. Children May Boost Happiness in Women
How often have you declared that your kids drive you up the wall? There’s no denying that raising children and teens can stress you. However, a study published by Open University in the United Kingdom found that mothers are happier with their lives than their child-free peers.
2. May Lower Your Blood Pressure
Believe it or not, having your little darlings may decrease your blood pressure, suggests a study by Brigham Young University. The study suggests that although raising children can be stressful, they give purpose to your life. It’s associated with lower blood pressure and better health outcomes, especially for mothers.
3. May Increase Your Self-Esteem
Perhaps nothing melts your heart more when your little one hugs you and proclaims you the “best Mommy ever.” By nature, children say whatever is on their minds. It makes you feel good when they give you honest praise and trust you beyond measure.
4. Your Children Keep Women Grounded
When you see the world through your child’s eyes, it boosts your creativity and curiosity. They are awed by the magic of glowing fireflies or how the moon seems to follow you as you travel. Their natural optimism is contagious and encourages you to count your blessings.
5. Care in Your Golden Years
Having children also means that they’ll be there for you as you get older. Plus, you’ll have the joy of spending time with your grandchildren. Being part of a multi-generational family is priceless.
The Connection Between Childbearing and Aging
Another factor of childbearing is how late in life mothers choose to have their children. Since infant mortality was historically high, mothers were encouraged to marry early and have as many children as possible. Consequently, the stress of having one child after another was a leading cause of mothers dying during childbirth.
In modern times, mothers are waiting longer to have children, according to an article published by the Boston University School of Medicine. Researchers compared mothers who had children past thirty-three and those who had their last child before thirty. The statistics suggest that the first group of mothers tended to live longer than the second group.
The article further discusses that those represented in the first group may be linked to the evolution of genetic variants. These variants may slow the aging process and decrease age-related genes. So, mothers who wait may have an advantage over those who start having children earlier.
What about the women who have their first little one past forty? The same research compared this group to those who had their last child before forty. Statistics suggest that the first group is four times more likely to live to be a hundred than the second group.
Final Thoughts on Longevity of Women with Children and Those Without
Studies about this question are academically sound yet have contradicting outcomes. However, they all agree that the findings warrant more research. It’s your choice whether to have children or not, but it seems that the blessings far outweigh any physical concerns.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_childlessness#Economic_and_cultural
https://www.powerofpositivity.com/women-with-kids-age-fastest/
