TOextended, separated, divorced, reconstituted, cohabitation. The familiessuch as society, economy, culture, they evolve rapidly. In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the so-called DINK families, acronym for Double Income, No Kidsthat is, couples with two salaries and no children. Not for nothing, the data that haunts governments but seems to resist every trend, it is the persistent decline in the birth rate. But what are the reasons that push individuals to choose not to have children?
DINK families, the spread of the phenomenon
The term DINK describes couples who, by choice or circumstances, do not have children despite both having an economic income. This family model is not an Italian exclusive, but a global trend. In the United States, for example, in 2022, 40% of married couples without children had two salaries. Percentage that increases in the 35-44 age group, reaching 44%. In the United Kingdom, a 2020 survey even found that 51% of 35-44 year olds did not have children and did not intend to have any.
The situation in Italy
A similar trend is also observed in Europe. In 2022, only one in four European families had children. Italy, in particular, is facing a serious birth crisis, with data showing a steady decline in births.
In 2023, 392,598 babies were bornslightly decreasing compared to the previous year, with a fertility rate falling to 1.21 children per woman, well below the replacement threshold of 2.1. This means that Italian families often stop at the first childand the number of second and subsequent children continues to decline.
They are families of two and choose to stay that way, not wanting children to shake up their lives (Getty)
To be or not to be DINK families
The decision to remain two is the result of a complex combination of factors. There is, certainly, the economic aspect: job insecurity is not an alibi, nor are low wages and the difficulty of achieving economic stability.
Italy, as is known, it is the only country in the OECD area with real wages stuck in the last century, with a growth of just 1% between 1991 and 2022. Then add the increase in the cost of living and the difficulty in finding stable and not crazy-priced accommodation. It is clear that, in such an uncertain contextor perceived as such, before giving birth to a child, people think about it.
The reasons? Fear of the future, low salaries
No less, there is fear for the future: Many young people express concern about the environmental and social challenges of the modern world, preferring not to bring children into the world in a context they perceive as dangerous.
There is, however, also a cultural change: deciding not to have children is a very specific choice. A third or fourth person in the family, however loved, would irreversibly change the couple’s lifestyle and it would reduce the availability of money to realize small and big dreams. Often, even more banally, neither of them wants to add stress to their existenceworrying about the safety and fate of someone other than themselves.
Little work-life balance
The imbalance between work and private life, for example, with increasingly intense work rhythms and the lack of attention to work-life balance which often forces women to choose between career and family, is also another determining element. Many working mothers are forced to leave their jobs due to difficulties in balancing family and careerwith a significant impact on their economic situation.
The birth rate is a vicious circle
All this, certainly, does not help the demographic crisis, which is and remains a complex problem with a domino effect. The decline in the birth rate has, in fact, inevitable repercussions on society as a whole. An aging population, in fact, leads to an increase in spending on pensions and healthcare, a reduction in the workforce and a slowdown in economic growth. Furthermore, it has a profound impact on the social fabric, changing intergenerational relationships and putting the sustainability of pension systems at risk.
What to do to reverse the trend?
The increase in DINK families and the decline in births represent an important challenge for the future of Italy and Europe. But, if they can be used to address the birth rate decline policies that support the familysuch as longer parental leaves, quality childcare and tax incentives; as well as the promotion of a culture that offers women and men the same opportunities to reconcile work and family lifeHowever, as regards the choice to live for oneself, it becomes more difficult to understand what to do, especially in an era that promotes individualism much more than solidarity.
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