A childless couple say the birth rate is at an all-time low because of “childcare costs and social media scaremongering”.
Hannah Bird, 25, and her husband Charlie Camper, 25, are DINKS – double incomers without kids – and are instead focused on travel.
The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level since records began, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The average total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children born to a woman – was 1.44 children per woman in 2023, the lowest since records began in 1938.
Hannah, a travel blogger, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, said: “I think more couples are choosing not to have children mainly because of childcare costs and social media scaremongering about women’s work ethic .
“There is definitely discrimination in the workplace against women who have children and social media makes me think that’s not fair. It drives me away.”
She added: “People have priority [spending on] experience on things like childcare. We want to experience life and vacation as much as we can.”
Not feeling ready, and the cost of housing and childcare are among the lists of reasons millennials are choosing not to have children, research from the UCL Center for Longitudinal Studies has found.
Hannah said: “It’s more affordable to fly and go on holiday and I think people are only now starting to realize that.
“An average night in the UK is like going to Italy for a few days, so I think we’re spending our money more wisely.”
The couple have visited 16 states this year alone and still have six more vacations planned in the next two months.
They make the most of these trips, doing activities such as skydiving, skiing and snorkeling, and say they’re in no rush for the kids.
Hannah and Charlie, a professional golfer, have chosen not to conceive naturally if they are to become parents in the future because Charlie has a genetic heart condition caused by a genetic mutation.
“We have just received our first IVF referral, having signed up in February,” said Hannah.
She said: “We decided to start the process as it is now a two to three year waiting time.”
According to government data, women have increasingly had children at older ages, with only one in five women born in 1997 having a child before the age of 25.
In January, the honeymoon couple visits India, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Brisbane, Japan and Hong Kong.
They went on to visit India, Australia, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Spain, Hungary, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, all in the span of 9 months.
The couple has no plans to stop anytime soon.
“We’re flying to Kenya next week for a safari and then to Zanzibar for six days,” Hannah said.
“People say that if you don’t have a child, you’re not fulfilling your life.
“I am very happy that I sat on the beach.
“If you don’t want kids – that’s okay. If you do – that’s okay.”
Places the couple has visited –
- England
- scotch
- Wales
- Ital
- Netherlands
- France
- Belgium
- Germany
- Slovakia
- Vatican City
- Austria
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Switzerland
- Spain
- Puffin Island
- Portuguese
- Croatia
- Turkey
- Maltese
- US
- Qatar
- UAE
- Maldives
- Ireland
- finland
- Poland
- Denmark
- Jordan
- KOREAN
- Indian
- Singapore
- Kuala Lumpur
- Australia
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Hungary
- Egypt
- Saudi Arabia
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Image Source : nypost.com