To wonder why more Men are childless than Women?

[Sunnysideup37]

I’ve been doing some research recently in population statistics and I have comes across the statistics that a quarter more men are childless at 45-50 than women. But I don’t fully understand why. The gender gap in society is no where near that? I am starting to wonder if those figures are an overcount because many men are not officially registered as a father to their kids when a woman can’t avoid being in the records for giving birth

Is it because men are more likely to have children later in life?

Oh interesting!

I don't know, but could it maybe be that men are more likely to have babies with more than one partner?

Possibly. I also suspect a lot of men don't really have the same biological ticking time clock as women.

I've yet to meet a man in his mid 30s who was getting anxious about whether he might not be able to father a child. I suspect a lot of them don't particularly think about it unless it happens or a partner is suggesting trying for a baby.

Because one man can impregnate any number of women.

Two possibilities
Men who do have children have more children on average than women who have children

Men are not recognized as the fathers of their children for various reasons, most of which do not cast the men in a favorable light.

It is likely a mix of the two and you could get a sense of the mix by checking the children per parent of registered births if that data is available.

I did wonder if it was age but the amount of men who become first time fathers over 50 is quite small. The majority of men having children over 50 already have older kids according to research.

One other reason I found is more men are in same sex relationships than women and considerably fewer men in same sex relationships are parents than women in same sex ones.

Because a lot of men can't really be arsed. A lot of them basically get talked into it by their wives/partners.
They don't really have the same biological urge some women get.

Men are much more likely to be gay then women would be my guess.

Because they may genuinely not want them. Or be in am agreed childfree by choice relationship.

It isn’t a moral failing in a man not to want to be a father.

@CounsellorTroi

Because they may genuinely not want them. Or be in am agreed childfree by choice relationship.

It isn’t a moral failing in a man not to want to be a father.

I don't think you've understood the question

A lot of people here don't seem to understand how statistics work - at all. Reasons could be: more men than women have their first child above the age of 50 (rare in both, but more rare for women); the point OP mentioned about same sex couples; that women can have a child without a man legally becoming a father is far more circumstances than men can have a child without a woman legally becoming a mother.

Singles might have an impact. A single woman can fairly easily engineer things (or by circumstance) to have children alone. Not so much for single men.

Because if a man doesn’t find a female partner, he can’t go it alone. So must long term single men don’t have kids. Females on the other hand can use a donor and do it themselves. I know several in this situation.

CounsellorTroi
Because they may genuinely not want them. Or be in am agreed childfree by choice relationship.

It isn’t a moral failing in a man not to want to be a father.

I don't think you've understood the question

I was really replying to the poster who said “because sometimes men just can’t be arsed.” I do understand the question.

I would not be surprised if there are more men with children with different mothers than women with children by different fathers. It's not just Mick Jagger or Boris Johnson who have children by several different women.

The proportion of men who are gay may be a factor as well.

@Sunnysideup37

I did wonder if it was age but the amount of men who become first time fathers over 50 is quite small. The majority of men having children over 50 already have older kids according to research.

One other reason I found is more men are in same sex relationships than women and considerably fewer men in same sex relationships are parents than women in same sex ones.

Interesting about more men in same sex relationships, something I had previously suspected. Do you have a source for this?

Women are more driven to have babies, and if they’re physically capable, will make it happen when they want a baby, even if it means being a single parent. Fewer men are desperate to have children in the first place, but those that do only have that option if they have a woman on board too.

I’d guess that lot of those childless men have step children even though they don’t have their own.

I guess that makes sense - likely more gay men don’t have kids than gay women, more men have kids by more than one partner than women (which leaves more room for some men to have no kids at all), plus some men have kids not officially acknowledged

Because the only obstacle to men becoming fathers (unless medical) is not being able to pull a woman young enough to have a baby. Generally men in their 40s done have too much trouble attracting women in their mid to late 30s.

Yes, women have to crack on with it sooner.

How does it compare statistically by age 55 for men and women.

By 55 it's over for 90% of men too, very few men can find a fertile woman to have their baby.

But at 45 it is not hard to believe that more women than men are parents.

ExH has children with several women, whereas I have one father for all my children. I don't think it's rare for this to be the case.

or age 56-60 I mean! given that the age band looked at is 45-55

Opportunities with the opposite sex are not evenly distributed for men - some of them are getting all the action with a selection of partners but other men have scarcely any opportunities.

I think it is far simpler than all of that.

Almost every woman, no matter how unattractive, can go out and find someone who will have sex with them. The same cannot be said for some men.

You also have the situation where people have a very short fling and then break up almost immediately, or they have a one-night stand. If the woman conceives, then she might not even tell the bloke. So years down the line, he has no idea that he is a father, because he wasn't told.

I know several men who had families in their late 20s/30s, raised them, divorced and remarried a younger woman and started a family again aged late 40s/50s. Women can’t do that.