Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Under 50 Don’t Plan to Have Children: Pew Research

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New data from Pew Research Center shows nearly half of adults under 50 in America don’t plan to have children.

Researchers found a staggering 47% of adults surveyed said they are “unlikely to ever have kids.”

When asked the reasons for choosing not to have children, most did not blame the economy or the rising cost of living. Instead, 57% told Pew that they simply don’t want kids. Forty-four percent said they “want to focus on other things.” Pew writes that most of these adults also said that “not having kids has made it easier for them to afford the things they want, have time for hobbies and interests, and save for the future.”

Interestingly, researchers found that among 18 – 49 year-olds, women were actually more likely than men to say that they simply don’t want to have kids.

These numbers are up drastically from 2018, when 61% of adults under 50 said they planned to have children someday.

All of this underscores how our society seems to view children as, at best, an accessory, and, at worst, a burden.

Society doesn’t treat children like they are a blessing from the Lord. Instead, people have been told that children will somehow stop them from doing what they want.

This is evidenced by the fact that earlier this year medical researchers reported that voluntary sterilizations are on the rise among 18 – 30 year-olds.

The fact is, children are good for society. We’ve seen in other countries how low birth rates hurt the economy, contribute to labor shortages, and make it harder to care for the elderly. In 2020, a Chinese Communist Part official admitted the country needed to do more to raise its birthrate in order to “meet labor demands.”

Many of the people who participated in Pew’s survey even said that “parents have it easier when it comes to having someone to care for them as they age.”

But more than just being good for society, children are a blessing. Children are an incredible responsibility, but they’re also an incredible joy. As John Stonestreet once said, “Every person bears the image of God, so whenever families produce children, they mirror God to the world. Sure kids are sometimes irritating, but they’re often hilarious, and they always remind us that life isn’t about ourselves.”

That’s a message more Americans should take to heart.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Traditional Marriage: A Pillar of Our Civilization

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This is part of Family Council’s ongoing series outlining the importance of traditional family values in society. Today’s installment highlights the value of traditional marriage.

Even though governments and courts in America have moved to redefine marriage in the past decade, traditional marriage between one man and one woman is still an essential building block of society.

Below are a few key points to consider.

Traditional Marriage is a Fundamental Institution

Marriage between one man and one woman is an institution that has existed for millennia. It has served as the foundation of countless civilizations — including our own.

It’s easy to forget, but no nation on earth recognized same-sex marriage before the year 2000. There is virtually no history of same-sex marriage in America — or anywhere else, for that matter — prior to the past 23 years.

The marriage of one man to one woman has been the bedrock of western civilization for almost a thousand years. Marriage licenses were issued in colonial America more than a century before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

There is nothing hateful in wanting to uphold the pillars that help support our civilization, and there is nothing wise in tearing those pillars down.

Supporting Traditional Marriage Goes Hand-in-Hand with Supporting Religious Liberty

Traditional marriage and religious liberty are deeply connected, because many religions recognize marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman.

Christians believe marriage is a part of God’s created order. People of faith should be free to live out their religious convictions regarding marriage.

Unfortunately, we have heard time and again about Christian photographers, bakers, florists, and wedding chapel owners being investigated and dragged into court because they declined to take part in a same-sex wedding or ceremony. Sometimes the Christian business owners win their cases. Other times they lose.

Devaluing marriage and redefining it in society have set the stage for this type of conflict.

Traditional Marriage is Good for Children and Families

Traditional marriage provides a supportive environment where children can thrive. It also is one of the most effective ways to combat poverty and promote economic mobility.

In 2012 Heritage Foundation published an exhaustive report identifying marriage as a determining factor in whether or not a family lives in poverty.

The report found “being married has the same effect in reducing poverty that adding five to six years to a parent’s level of education has.”

Bottom line: Traditional marriage — a lifelong union of one man to one woman — is good for everyone.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Traditional Family Values: The Nuclear Family

Family,

This is part of Family Council’s ongoing series outlining the importance of traditional family values in society. Today’s installment focuses on the value of the nuclear family.

The nuclear family consisting of a married mother and father with their children is a cornerstone of our society.

Below are two key points to consider.

The Nuclear Family Provides Stability and Structure

Strong families are essential for building strong communities and a strong society. The nuclear family provides a foundation for that to happen.

Families offer a stable environment where men, women, and children to flourish and contribute to their communities.

The nuclear family is especially important for children, because it provides them with stability and structure. Children thrive when they are raised in a home with a married mother and father who are committed to one another and to their children.

The Nuclear Family Helps Prevent Poverty

Marriage and family provide a hedge against poverty.

An exhaustive report from the Heritage Foundation found that people were 82% less likely to experience poverty when they graduated from high school, then got married, then had children, and then remained married.

The same study found children from single-parent homes were:

  • More than twice as likely to be arrested for a juvenile crime;
  • Twice as likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems;
  • Roughly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school; and
  • A third more likely to drop out before completing high school.

A 2014 study by officials from the National Marriage Project found, “Growing up with both parents (in an intact family) is strongly associated with more education, work, and income among today’s young men and women.”

Marriage and the nuclear family provide a hedge against poverty and other bad outcomes for children.

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