Parenthood in 2025 is being redefined. Across the globe, young adults are navigating a landscape where the decision to have children is no longer assumed, but interrogated. The OECD reports that fertility rates have plunged from 3.3 children per woman in 1960 to just 1.5 in 2022 across member countries. This isn’t just a demographic shift; it’s a reflection of deeper currents: economic precarity, climate anxiety, evolving gender roles, and a growing embrace of childfree lifestyles.
Parenthood is no longer a default milestone—it’s a complex, often fraught choice shaped by forces far beyond the nursery. Here are 15 reasons why parenthood is declining.
Economic barriers and rising living costs
Financial roadblocks remain one of the most significant barriers to having children. The 2025 UNFPA State of World Population report found that 39% of respondents across 14 countries—including the U.S.—cited financial limitations such as high housing costs, inflation, and stagnant wages as the primary reason for having fewer children than they desired
The expenses tied to raising kids, like education and childcare, have become daunting for middle-class families. According to a 2025 analysis by the Brookings Institution, the average cost of raising a single child in the United States has hit nearly $310,000 by age 18, making parenthood feel increasingly out of reach.
Job insecurity and precarious work
Millions of individuals face unstable employment in today’s economy. A 2025 report highlights how unstable employment—especially gig work and zero-hour contracts—has become a major deterrent to family growth. The report found that 21% of individuals cited insecure work conditions as a key reason for delaying or avoiding parenthood.
Without benefits like paid parental leave or employer-sponsored healthcare, the prospect of raising children feels financially reckless. Many avoid the additional stress and responsibility, choosing career stability over family expansion.
Fear for the future: Climate, conflict, and uncertainty
The uncertainty of the future heavily influences decisions about parenthood. The 2025 UNFPA State of World Population report, based on surveys conducted in 2024 across 14 countries, including the U.S., found that nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19%) cited concerns about climate change, environmental degradation, wars, and pandemics as reasons for having fewer children than they desired.
These anxieties reflect a growing trend where global instability directly influences personal decisions about family size and reproductive timing. One striking example is how extreme weather events have exacerbated these concerns. Record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires have left many questioning whether raising a child in this environment can be responsible or feasible.
Gender inequality and unequal domestic labor
Unequal household roles continue to drive down birth rates globally. According to Deloitte’s Women @ Work 2024, a significant portion of women—13% across 14 countries—identified disproportionate domestic responsibilities and career setbacks as major deterrents to having children.
A study cited by the World Economic Forum reports that the career and income setbacks women face after having children account for up to 80% of the gender pay gap. This imbalance forces many women to reassess whether motherhood is compatible with professional advancement.
Delayed marriage and changing relationships
According to the Institute for Family Studies, as of 2024, just 20% of 25-year-old women and 23% of 25-year-old men in the U.S. have ever been married. It also forecasts that nearly one-third of today’s young adults will reach midlife without ever marrying. This shift undermines traditional pathways to parenthood.
The ManpowerGroup reports that many women cite career setbacks and disproportionate domestic burdens as key reasons for avoiding parenthood. 13% explicitly linked these pressures to their decision in a 2024 global survey. As autonomy and professional growth take precedence, fewer individuals view parenting as a viable or desirable life choice.
The pursuit of education and career
As more women pursue higher education and prioritize their careers, first-time parenting tends to occur at later life stages. According to the World Bank Gender Data Portal, the number of women completing tertiary education has nearly doubled since 1990.
Professional goals often take precedence, primarily as individuals aim to build financial foundations or climb corporate ladders. This has led to smaller families and growing numbers of people who choose to avoid parenthood altogether.
Expensive and inaccessible childcare
Families worldwide struggle to afford and access reliable childcare. A 2023 OECD report indicated that for families in most developed nations, childcare consumes up to 28% of household income.
Parents who cannot find affordable solutions often balance work and caregiving in unsustainable ways. Countries with subsidized childcare services, such as Sweden and Denmark, see significantly higher birth rates, underscoring the policy gap in other regions.
Cultural shifts and individualism
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Parenthood no longer holds its once-universal status as a life milestone, as more adults redefine fulfillment through autonomy and career growth. In 2025, the UNFPA reported that 39% of people cited financial constraints as the primary reason for having fewer children than they wanted. Rising housing costs, job insecurity, and unequal domestic labor further discourage family formation, especially among women.
Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that declining birth rates reflect a broader shift in adult priorities, not just economic hardship. As solo living and child-free lifestyles gain cultural acceptance, parenthood increasingly appears as a personal choice rather than a societal expectation.
Mental health concerns
Mental health concerns increasingly shape decisions around parenthood, with stress, anxiety, and depression prompting many adults to opt out. A 2025 advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General confirms that parental stress now ranks as a critical public health issue, affecting both individual well-being and child development.
Researchers at University College London found that psychological distress and perceived emotional readiness significantly influence fertility choices, especially among women aged 30–35. As mental health awareness grows, emotional bandwidth has become a decisive factor in contraceptive use and long-term family planning.
Technology, screen time, and parenting apps
Technology increasingly mediates modern parenting. A 2023 survey by Pew Research Center found that many parents with children under 12 say their child uses a tablet daily, often as part of managing routines or filling childcare gaps. Additionally, Common Sense Media reports that children under eight now average over two hours of screen time per day, much of it unsupervised.
AI-powered tools now track developmental milestones, offer behavioral insights, and guide daily routines, reshaping how families approach early childhood care. However, Pediatric experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have long cautioned that excessive screen time before age five can interfere with critical developmental milestones.
Declining religion and family values
Secular societies consistently produce smaller families, with Pew Research showing that religiously unaffiliated Americans average 1.8 children compared to 2.2 among Christians. Sociologist Landon Schnabel, published in Socius, found that even highly religious individuals have fewer children when living in secular countries—about half as many as their counterparts in religious nations.
This pattern reflects how societal norms, not just personal beliefs, shape reproductive behavior. As organized religion loses cultural authority, its historical role in promoting large families weakens. The result is a measurable drop in birth rates across secularized regions, contributing to below-replacement fertility and shifting expectations around adulthood and parenthood.
Urbanization and lack of space
Urban environments in the United States increasingly hinder parenthood by restricting access to affordable housing and safe outdoor spaces. In cities like New York and San Francisco, families face rising housing costs. According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median price for existing single-family homes in U.S. metro areas reached $429,400 in Q2 of 2025.
Crowded living conditions, especially in renter-occupied units, negatively affect children’s health and academic outcomes, as reported by the Urban Institute. As suburban migration becomes less viable due to surging property prices nationwide, the logistical and environmental challenges of raising children in U.S. cities continue to grow, contributing to declining birth rates.
Immigration and population demographics
Governments increasingly rely on relaxed immigration policies to offset declining birth rates and sustain labor force growth. In 2023, OECD countries admitted a record 6.5 million new permanent migrants, according to the International Migration Outlook 2024. OECD nations issued over 2.4 million work permits and authorizations in 2023 (excluding Poland), marking a 16% rise compared to 2022.
These policies help fill workforce gaps, but they also reshape cultural norms and family structures, especially as migrants navigate new roles and expectations. A 2024 study published in Library Progress International showed that transnational families often experience disrupted parent-child relationships and altered authority dynamics due to acculturation gaps.
Unintended pregnancies and reproductive health barriers
Limited access to contraception, fertility care, and abortion services continues to obstruct reproductive autonomy in many regions. According to the UNFPA State of World Population Report 2024, one in four women globally cannot make decisions about their healthcare, including when to have children.
A 2024 cross-sectional study published in PLOS Global Public Health found that in sub-Saharan Africa, fewer than half of primary-level health facilities offer trained post-abortion care staff. These gaps in reproductive infrastructure directly contribute to delayed or forgone parenthood, especially among low-income populations.
The experiences-over-things mindset
Millennials and Gen Z increasingly prioritize travel, wellness, and personal growth over starting families. According to the Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 57% of millennials reported actively seeking new challenges and skill-building experiences. In comparison, 53% favored resort vacations over material purchases. CDC’s National Vital Statistics Reports states that the average age at first birth in the U.S. rose to 27.5 years for women, reflecting a shift beyond peak fertility windows.
Rising housing costs and student debt have pushed many to delay homeownership, with long-term renting now seen as a strategic choice. As budget priorities shift toward self-investment and flexibility, traditional family expenditures like daycare and mortgages lose ground, contributing to declining birth rates.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
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