‘We’d love to have more children, but everything’s too expensive and I have to work full time.’
Usually, I’d be delighted to hear a friend say they were done having children and their family is complete.
I’m childfree, so it would be a fair assumption that friends having children is a tricky subject for me. Yes, I miss the days that quick drinks accidently turned into coming home at 3am, and I complain that WhatsApp groups are just baby photos now. But, loved-ones achieving their dream of having kids is a brilliant thing.
So, the comment from my friend should have had me celebrating that we’d soon be back to impromptu dinners, once they’re out of the newborn stage.
Instead, I felt sad for her.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Condom manufacturing has increased by 20-30% due to the Iran War
The world’s top condom manufacturer is increasing prices by up to 30%, and owner Goh Miah Kiat says the Iran war is to blame. Also stating a higher demand for their condoms due to the ongoing crisis, which is causing instability among people and making them more inclined to prevent pregnancy.
You can read about Metro’s report on it here.
There’s a big difference between ‘no more children for us!’ and ‘external circumstances beyond our control mean we don’t feel able to have more children’.
One is a joyful realisation, a goal accomplished. The other is unhappy acceptance.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has taken the decision away. People simply cannot afford to have more than one or two kids, and some aren’t having any at all.
Everyday household items like detergent, medications, toys, and even condoms are more expensive.
It’s a situation I wrote about back in 2022.
My personal realisation was, even if I wanted children, the post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis would make parenthood impossible for me. I feel strongly about being absolutely sure I could afford to have a child. Having grown up with money struggles, I’d want to make sure I could provide a consistently comfortable, safe upbringing.
At the time, many friends and family were dismissive, I heard it all: ‘it’s hard, but you just get on with it’, ‘it’s not that expensive’, and the classic, ‘you’ll change your mind’.
Four years later, with more global conflicts and more economic pressures, I feel more and more sure of my choice.
What was meant to be a short-term cost-of-living crisis is now just the norm. And, the US-Israeli war against Iran has pushed budgets far beyond what is manageable. Of course, it’s the Iranian people who are most significantly and brutally affected by the war. In the UK, we’re lucky. We are not living in a war zone.
Instead, our lives are impacted financially.
Our energy bills had already risen sharply since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now they’re even higher. Food prices are increasing. Weekly supermarket shops are more expensive and travel costs are impacted. Petrol and diesel prices significantly jumped.
Holidays were always a treat, but now they’re even more unattainable as airlines cancel flights and add extra charges due to increased fuel costs.
According to the think tank Resolution Foundation, living standards of the average UK household were on track for 0.9% growth. This is expected to now decrease by 0.6% this financial year due to the war.
The Generations and Gender Survey, released just before the US-Israeli war with Iran began, found increasing numbers of young adults are choosing not to have children.
Unsurprisingly, key reasons for this were attributed to high childcare costs, the cost-of-living crisis, and worries about the world their children would inherit.
I’m definitely seeing more people choosing to be childfree. When I first told people I didn’t want kids it was unusual. Now I have a group of childfree friends.
Despite years of murmurs about ‘all time low’ birth rates, there hasn’t been any significant attempt to really help millennials and Gen Z to become parents. We need a country where families can thrive. Funded childcare, more support for working parents, prioritising affordable housing, and radically confronting the cost-of-living crisis.
Do world events and cost-of-living crises influence your personal decisions about having children?
-
Yes, definitely
-
Sometimes they do
-
Not really
-
Not at all
I’ve known for a long time I’d be more financially secure, more fulfilled, and less sleep deprived if I remained childfree. I always wondered what would happen when I got older, especially when I reached my later 30s- the decade everyone assured me I’d change my mind.
In reality, my 30s have been one unprecedented national and international event after another. I’m just as happily childfree as ever. My biological clock clearly has no batteries, but even if it could tick, it couldn’t possibly be louder than ever-escalating economic, political, and environmental crises.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing M.Navarrogriffiths@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.