Why Gen Z Is Avoiding Parenthood: The whole “having kids” thing for a lot of younger adults is not a sure bet anymore. Across a bunch of recent surveys, Gen Z folks seem to be pushing parenthood farther out, or just side-eyeing the idea entirely, mostly because of money worries, lifestyle goals, and what they’re afraid of for the future.
Why Gen Z Is Avoiding Parenthood
A 2025 survey from Care.com found that only 30% of childless adults between 18 and 44 say they definitely want to become parents. At the same time, 44% said they do not want children, or they are kind of leaning that way, or they’re still on the fence. In that survey, the biggest worry was the cost of raising kids, with 68% saying it makes them less likely to have children. Also, 73% pointed to trouble finding trustworthy childcare as a major reason affecting their decision.
Parenthood vs Financial Security
Financial anxiety keeps showing up, like it’s the main background noise in multiple studies. In a recent survey by Intuit Credit Karma, 54% of Gen Z respondents said they feel pressured to pick between financial security and having children. More than two thirds also said the cost of raising a child today feels basically out of reach financially, like not even close.
Then there’s a MassMutual survey, which said nearly one in four Gen Z and Millennial adults do not want kids because they care about financial freedom and they’re worried about the actual expenses of raising a family
Climate Anxiety Is Also Playing A Role
And yeah, beyond money, the bigger future picture is creeping in too. Like concerns about climate change are affecting whether people plan to have children.
A 2025 survey spotlighted by Newsweek found that 38% of Gen Z respondents said climate change makes them less likely to have children. Researchers suggested that environmental anxiety is becoming part of everyday talk about long term life choices , and family planning.
It’s Not Just About Not Wanting Children
Something that experts keep emphasizing is that lower birth rates might not mean young people are rejecting parenthood completely.
A recent report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said many people still want children, but they can’t have as many as they’d like, because of economic hardship, housing costs, job insecurity, and weaker support systems. UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem said the real problem isn’t that people lack desire for children , it’s that barriers stop them from making the family choices they would prefer
A Shift In Priorities
All together, the results suggest Gen Z is approaching parenthood in a different way than earlier generations. Instead of seeing marriage and children as unavoidable milestones, many are putting financial stability first, plus personal wellness and longer term security, before starting a family.
Whether this is just a temporary pause, or something more permanent, is still up in the air. Still, what seems pretty obvious is that for many Gen Z adults, the choice to have children is less about tradition now, and more about what’s practical in real life.
