Of the childless Americans aged 18 to 49, 44% now say they are never likely to become parents. More than half of the respondents who didn’t plan on having children cited personal preference, 17% cited financial obstacles, and 14% attributed their decision to the state of the world or climate change. (Pew Research Center, Dec 2021).

My comment: “More than half cited personal preference”: this is very vague. I suspect it stems from a mish-mash of reasons, the most threatening being what climate change will bring. There is a constant drip, drip of news about flooding, hurricanes, rising sea levels, melting ice etc, which is certain to become worse. Is it responsible to put a child in a position to confront this uncertain and threatening future? Potential parents might not articulate this, but very probably it is a major reason for remaining childless. The climate threat gnaws away at peace of mind. I love my sons and would never be without them, but at the back of my mind I do wonder if, had I known then what I know now………….