'Neither of us feel interested': More Americans don't want kids, and it's not just because of the money [View all]

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Societies need to maintain a fertility rate of roughly 2.1 births per woman in order to sustain the population — in other words, to make sure there are enough people to keep the workforce up and running. Fewer babies can mean fewer workers, fewer taxpayers and, as a result, shrinking economies.

These demographic shifts have raised some alarms for economists, as well as certain politicians and public figures who frame the decline as indicative of moral decay. Not wanting kids is “a form of selfishness,” the pope declared in 2022.

The reasons that more Americans say “no” to parenthood are more complex than they often appear, though. Becoming a parent is expensive, but money is not the No. 1 reason given for remaining child-free. In many cases, Americans simply have more options — and realize that they can pursue happiness in other ways.

“I think I was just raised on, ‘This is what success looks like,’ and it’s this traditional family setup,” Job says. “To be able to come out here and see it work 1,000 different ways made me realize I could have that.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/16/why-more-americans-dont-want-kids.html