Insights Unveiled: Childlessness and Childcare Survey Results in the UK

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A comprehensive new survey reveals the changing face of UK families amid recent economic, social, and political turmoil.

The methodology and initial findings from the UK Generations and Gender Survey are being presented today [Friday, 19 January] at a meeting of academics and stakeholders in London. The presentations include two issues confronting UK adults today: the use of childcare and the decision whether or not to have children.

The survey, which has been carried out in the UK for the first time, was led by researchers at the University of Southampton in cooperation with the international Generations and Gender Programme. The team collected data on partnerships, marriages, and fertility histories from a representative sample of 7,000 people aged 18-59 in the UK. They asked respondents about their families, economic and housing situations, and inter-generational relationships, as well as attitudes on issues like Brexit and the environment.

Rise in young adults intending not to have children

UK birth rates have been falling for the past decade—especially among young adults. Researchers wanted to see if the decision not to have children was associated with concern for the environment. The survey found:

• 15% of Gen Zers (aged 18 to 24) said they are definitely not intending to have a child. That compares with between 10 and 15% of people who were the same age between 2005 and 2007. A further 11% of the Gen Zers said they are probably not intending to have a child, while 22% said they were unsure.
• Less than half of younger millennials (25 to 34 years old) said they definitely or probably intend to have a child.
• Among childless older millennials (35 to 41 years old), around a third say they will definitely not have a child, with a further 20% saying they probably will not.
• Childless millennials (especially older ones) with stronger environmental concerns were less likely to intend to have a child.
• The opposite was true for Gen Zers—those who are more likely to intend to have a child are also more worried about climate change.

“We found that environmental concerns are a factor for older millennials intending to remain childless, our study suggests this isn’t the case for Gen Z,” says Professor Brienna Perelli-Harris from the University of Southampton, who led the UK Generations and Gender Survey.

“This may be because some younger people do not intend to have children for other reasons, or it could be that Gen Zers who would like to have children are more worried about the planet their children will inherit.”

Childcare differs greatly by household income

Researchers also explored one of the challenges facing those who do have children—high childcare costs. Finding affordable childcare is a challenge for many families and pressures such as the cost-of-living crisis, shortage of childcare workers and closure of childcare settings due to the pandemic have made things more difficult.

» …
Read More