Apparently in 2030, 45% of women ages 25–44 will be single and childfree. Do you think this will happen?

[YouAreNotBatman]

https://medium.com/hello-love/study-predicts-45-of-women-will-be-single-by-2030-1fbc99bad6a8

Came across this article.
And as much as I (single/childfree woman) would like this to be true, just so there would be more like-minded people and the stigma of being single and childfree woman would lessen.

I really don’t think this is going to happen.
Most people are still higgly conventional and traditions seem to stick in strong.

And also: putting young age 25 is jist silly, by the next 5-10 years most of those women will be married/have kids.
And what I’ve seen happening in dating life is that labels have changed, but it’s still the same old, same old.
Many insist they are ’casual’ or have areagment or new word for dating, but they are basically just plain old dating/in a relationship.

@Maddy70 my friends were all childfree mid 30s too. changed late 30's to mid 40s. and weirdly we still have lots of fun together after having kids.

I was thinking about this when talking on a couple of Whatsapp groups of close female friends - all educated women from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds - early to mid forties

Group 1 5 friends

1 married and child free
1 engaged and child free
1 long term relationship and 3 children
1 long term relationship and a stepchild (me)

Group 2 7 friends

1 married and child free
1 long term relationship and 1 child
1 married and 4 children
1 married and 1 child
1 long term relationship and a stepchild (me)
1 married and child free
1 single and child free

not a huge amount of marriages and children between us!

oops forgot the fifth person in group 1 - single and child free

Gender roles are being redefined and that is part of the problem. A lot of women don’t want a life of cooking, cleaning and chilcare and fitting a job around this. Man need to step up and become equal partners. Add dead beat dads and disney dad’s in to the mix and you have all the ingredients for a falling birthrate.

In the majority of countries (excepting usa) there is more family involvement, lower divorce rates and women have more of a life.

Kids were the best thing that ever happened to me, despite the hardships, but not everyone want to compromise on career, free time and mental load.

A lot of women don’t want a life of cooking, cleaning and chilcare and fitting a job around this

Hate to break it to you, but childfree women also cook and clean.

In the majority of countries (excepting usa) there is more family involvement, lower divorce rates and women have more of a life

Lol. In what countries do women have more of a life? Pakistan? Saudi Arabia? Norway? What are you even talking about?

It would help it people stopped with such tosh.

I'm genuinely sorry (and a bit surprised) that this is your experience. I may be way off here but I'm assuming it may have a lot to do with location and demographics? E.g. living in a small, traditionally-minded place where a lot of people end up marrying someone they met at school?

I'm almost 34, childfree and unmarried (but do have a boyfriend, no plans to marry or have kids) and was single for about a decade before meeting him, although I did have some short flings over this time. I've never felt any kind of judgement or stigma, but then I only know one person in my extended social group who has children. The rest are a mix of casually dating, single and very happy about it, single and unhappy about it, in long term relationships. I think a couple are planning kids while others don't want them or are unsure. We talk a a lot about societal expectations and relationships though in a very lively group chat which often hosts debates on social norms – one thing we all agree on is that it's infinitely better to be single than in a bad relationship.

You only have to look on here to see how many women get lumbered with the bulk of the work once kids arrive. It’s the uneven distribution of work that is the core issue, alongside the fact that men can walk away from their kids with no consequences at all.

Thanks for the casual racism that was helpful…not.

The problem in the UK is twofold- married couples are divorcing but increasingly couples are not getting married in the first place. This again often leaves the woman in a worse position and holding the kids if they split. The UK as this thread states has a huge number if single people.

It’s funny your name is Sheldonia because your attitude is fairly immature just like Sheldon’s. Anyway, as you were.

By 2030? Nah.

I agree, @Hbh17 and we really need to stop stereotyping what a childfree life or family life is like, because in reality, everyone has a different experience.

Being single and/or childfree doesn’t automatically mean that you’re having an amazing, fulfilling life nor does it mean the opposite.

Similarly, not all married parents are exhausted drudges who struggle to balance their family life and careers (and regret becoming parents). Some will, some won’t.

The freedom to choose is what’s important and not judging other people’s choices/stereotyping them is equally so.

I am in my late 20s with a primary aged child. I don't necessarily regret it, I wouldn't take it back now... But, I think if I had my time again, I would choose to be child-free.

Your experience mirrors mine entirely, catchthedog.

I paid far too much attention to the doom-laden posts about 'drudgery', etc.

I still go out with friends, I still have a career, I haven't 'wrecked' my body, I haven't 'lost' my identity and my husband does 50/50 of the household chores and childrearing.

There's a really ugly narrative about being a mother, which doesn't reflect my experience at all. I wish I hadn't listened to the doommongers for 20 years. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one around!

There's a really ugly narrative about being a mother, which doesn't reflect my experience at all.

There’s at least three of us out there, @EdgeOfACoin ! My experience of married life and parenthood in my early 30’s has also been also very positive. At 48 with teenagers, I don’t feel like a drudge at all. I haven’t lost my identity or my figure, I have a career, a social life,
and I do alot of enjoyable things.

Tbh, caring for my elderly Dad in recent years has impacted my life far more, because I’ve had to turn down work ( I’m a consultant) and miss out on social events to spend time with him. It’s far been more grueling than parenting, in my experience.

As you say, extreme stereotypes aren’t helpful at all.

A lot of this doom mongering about fewer women marrying and having families reminds me of incels who bemoan the fact that women aren't staying barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen any more

That’s quite an extreme interpretation, @PopcorningLikeAHappyGuineaPig !

It's their considered intentions not to have children etc though

It was expected when I was younger. Lots of them have considered the world they're bringing children into along with affordability. Something I never considered