Gen Z parenthood: Enthusiasm wanes for children among younger generation

With recent statistics exposing the exorbitant costs of childcare, it’s unsurprising to see that more and more women are deciding not to have children. I recently interviewed fellow Gen-Z’ers to find out what their attitudes are on being parents and whether they will consider being child free, like more women are increasingly beginning to do.

According to the Daily Mail, there is a crisis in childcare due to a lack of nurseries and childminders in the UK. When parents do eventually find childcare, it can cost up to £140 per day, accumulating to £33,700 per year for one child. This makes the UK’s childcare one of the most expensive in Europe and this problem is not helped by the government failing to properly address this problem.

Often, the immense responsibility and pressure of daily childcare is put on grandparents. In fact, I spoke to a grandparent who takes care of her grandchild from 7am to 5pm daily, whilst her daughter undertakes her nursing course.

This issue has been ongoing for years and peaked during the high-profile ‘’March of the Mummies’’ in 2022 and is understandably making people rethink having children. For many, deciding not to be parents saves them the stress of leaving jobs, or negotiating down hours.

According to Office of National Statistics in 2020, half of women born in 1990 remained childless by their 30th birthday. And, research carried out by the University of Southampton revealed that less than half of younger millennials (25 to 34 years old) said they definitely or probably intend to have a child. Not only is it difficult to balance work and children, but women also face a double-edged sword in society, where they get attacked for neglecting children, and being a ‘’shallow career woman’’ yet being a stay-at-home mum is still also stigmatised.

In an interview with Women’s Health Magazine, Amy Blackstone discussed how society tends to consider motherhood ‘’a natural part of being a woman’’ and described how Gen Z are dismantling this social norm, ‘’disentangling the connection openly and without apology’’.

With all this in mind, this week I have spoken to multiple fellow teenage girls about their opinions on having children. It was fascinating to see that for many, being a mother is not very high on their priority list.

One responded ‘’I’m neutral: it simply depends on who I end up with. If my partner wants one fine, if not, I would happily accept not having children’’. Another claimed ‘’I’m not opposed to it, but it isn’t something I personally plan on doing.’’

Some responded that they ‘’need to be older’’ and have children in the late thirties so they can ‘’live life first, as having a child can take up a lot of time’’.

A particularly interesting response was: ‘’It’s not that I don’t want children, but I don’t want to be confined to being a mother – it’s too restrictive. As a mum you’re expected to sacrifice so much and I’m being honest, I don’t think I can be tied down like that.’’

Whatever your opinions are on motherhood, as a whole, attitudes have shifted a great deal since the 50’s and I think we’re going to begin seeing more and more women deciding not to have children.