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Life is full of analyzing our daily decisions, big or small. Smaller decisions, like what to eat for breakfast or what to wear, seem less important. A bigger decision, like whether or not to have children, is more daunting.  

Social media conversations suggest that more young adults do not want children. In July 2023, CBS reported on these conversations, and 40-year-old interviewee Cecile Palacios commented that there may be a “childfree movement” occurring and spreading in the United States. 

With over fifty-thousand posts under the hashtag #childfree, TikTok seems to house the conversation around the movement. Under this hashtag, videos such as Katie Grant’s bring forward personal “mean girl” anecdotes where people who do not want children are publicly shamed and put down by those with opposing views on parenthood. 

Grant’s video has around 650 thousand views, showcasing her experiences with public shaming by other women and how that made her feel. Her content asks whether it would be socially acceptable if the roles were reversed. 

One reason for this desire for child-less freedom may be inflation. Inflation is nothing short of a common phrase in the US, but many are unaware how much it truly affects their day-to-day life. 

According to USA Facts, inflation is defined by the rise in prices for services and goods within the supply and demand chain of the economic system. The main source of measuring and analyzing inflation is the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). This tool puts services and goods into categories and monitors average purchases within each category. 

This system is produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A common category that comes to mind is ‘commodities,’ which involves cars and clothes. The increase of gas prices and car expenses is an especially widely common phenomenon, with constant comparisons of former gas prices and guessing games of ‘how high will gas be this week?’ 

Today, focus is on a different part of the cost of living: children. According to Axios, there was a significant decline in the US birthrate per every 1000 people from 2007 to 2022. This decline may be a trend due to online climates housing more open conversation on family views. However, Axios also reported that the birthrate did increase slightly within the last year, but critics are not certain it will last. In the meantime, conversation will continue to flow around the rumored childfree movement. 

Ana Fank, a junior studying Business Management at Grand View University, commented on parenthood and her own views around the topic. Fank spoke on her childhood and why she wants to have children of her own. 

“I want the connection that my parents had,” Fank said. 

She wants to experience the fun and supportive aspects her parents provided her as a child. Fank’s core reason for wanting children is to pass on the love her parents raised her and her siblings with. 

Not everyone has a ten-year plan, or even knows what they will eat for breakfast tomorrow, but Fank knows she wants children someday. As long as someday is not soon. 

The Pew Research Center reported that this decline could also be due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic instability that came with it in 2020. Understanding the full effects of the pandemic had is a still a long-term project. In 2021, The Pew Research Center surveyed adults between the ages of 18 to 49 about their future plans. Pew reported that 44% of the participants who did not already have kids said they were “unlikely” to ever have children. 

This is due to many factors. Some participants claimed that financial and economic issues were the main cause of their decision. Most participants who did not already have kids said they simply just “don’t want to” when identifying why they are unlikely to have children.  

Online conversation is flowing around the topic of birthrate and societal norms. Katie Grant’s video is just one example of how this conversation is changing. 

“You always want to be stable when you’re thinking about having kids,” Fank said. 

Financial stability is a big factor in providing for oneself and family.Therefore, her personal goal is to start a family of her own around her mid-twenties. 

“I have seen on the internet all the struggles people face when they do not have the financials for children,” Fank said.  

She envisions that if she had children sooner then planned, she would expect financial struggle as a college student without a lot of assets. Fank also mentioned she is no stranger to the criticism those who do not plan on having children often face. Her sister is one of these people. 

“She’s wants to be happy in life and currently a child is not one of the things that she thinks will make her happy,” Fank said. 

Fank is aware and even feels slightly sad about her sister’s differing viewpoint, but explained how some generational morale may also play a factor in how society treats the outspoken views on not wanting children. 

Fank mentioned that when she talks to older people in her life, their mindset is often different on parenthood. She has noticed also the dated portrayal of women in media: as a mother. 

“It’s stay in the kitchen, have children” Fank said, when describing the traditional mindset and different viewpoint on parenthood for women.  

Fank’s great-grandmother had around six or seven children in a time that was very different for women. 

Societal norms change and adapt often, and many factors from economic status to internet trends influence the climate of conversation today. However, conversation is key to the way members of society interact and understand one another. So let us keep talking, even about babies and money.