Why More Americans Are Going Child Free

In 2022, 43% of Americans surveyed said they’d want to get married in the future. But just a little more than a quarter said they were sure about wanting children. Faced with many financial challenges, more Millennials and Gen Z are pairing up with an intentional choice not to have children. This new trend has led to the rise of a new type of household popularly referred to as DINK: dual income, no kids. So what’s it like to live the DINK lifestyle and will it be the future of American households?

Chapters:
1:25 Reasons
4:08 Disposable income
8:13 Challenges

Produced by: Juhohn Lee
Edited by: Andrea Miller, Amy Marino
Animation: Christina Locopo
Camera by: Zach Levenson
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson
Additional Footage: Getty Images
Additional Sources: U.S. Census, The Financial Gym, Harris Poll, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

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Why More Americans Are Going Child Free

[beth]

If you want people to have kids, then stop making it impossible.

[jackEternal]

So if am single income, no kids… I’m a SINK

[dianesullivan]

Everything costs more now, so I ask for a raise, but then companies raise prices to cover their costs, and here we go again!Feels like a hamster wheel, going nowhere fast.

[achu]

"At your age I had a house and 3 kids" yes grandpa, back when houses costed peanuts

[kevinsouza]

Most of us can't even afford a house how the hell are we supposed to afford having kids?

[gabes]

"This will be bad for the future economy" OK so then society needs to make childcare affordable, raise wages to a living wage to match inflation, productivity, and cost of living, lower income taxes, etc.

[ShellyHuerta]

This is my fifth year after retirement. I’ve been following the 4% rule thing I saw on a YouTube channel, but this isn’t really how hard I expected things to be. After I cashed out a lump sum, I still have about $760k left, but at this rate, and with how the market is (we were putting money away in an index fund), I’m starting to get worried.

[maryleene]

Just because you are married, that doesnt mean that having a child is required. .

[DJDrew]

For every 1 couple like them, there are 10 couples popping out babies with no money and no plan.

[SleazyDonny]

In many countries including the United States, there has been a failure to create an environment that is conducive to having and raising children.

[twiggimmapiggus]

As a teacher AND as a mother, if you are on the fence about becoming a parent and simply cannot decide if parenthood is for you, err on the side of caution and stay child free. I have so many students whose parents strike me as the kind of people that should have worked on themselves before deciding to have kids.

[KingDanny]

No kids for me!!! It's the greatest decision I've ever made. I sleep so peacefully.

[bradvincet]

People who are perfectly capable of raising children don't but people who have no business raising kids do.

[entertainmentyoutube]

Not having kids doesn't mean you ll be rich. You can be poor and not have kids, but it is better than being poor with many kids

[YourWaifuTrashliness]

"This will be bad for the future economy." Because there's inevitably going to be less people for corporations to exploit.

[jasonnichols]

My kids haven't even been CONCIEVED yet, and I'm already trying to protect them. How? By not putting them on this planet until I'm damn well good and ready. Food, medicine, shelter, a comfortable bed, toys etc. I want to have those things lined up without ANY problems before I decide to have any children.

Since I can't even afford to feed MYSELF right now, I think it is safe to say that it'll be irresponsible to put them on this rock just so they can suffer. That isn't fair. They're better off floating around in the ethers, being one of the stars or whatever, than being here just because I thought it was a "good idea" to procreate.

[MattETH]

It’s because we don’t have any money. I’d love to have kids but refuse to raise them in poverty.

[fubytv]

These days even finding a partner is very hard, let alone having kids.

[hinthegroove]

I was doing this 40 years ago, today I am dying alone and I’m fine with it too.
Staying childless by choice allowed me to experience places and things others never see in one lifetime. Life was rich, to say the least 😊

[okiedokie]

Having no kids in your thirties is so freaking liberating.