High housing costs and an uneven share of household chores may not, by themselves, explain why birth rates are falling around the world. A new report from the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute suggests that culture also plays a significant role.
The survey included nearly 10,000 people in more than a dozen countries. Its findings point to social pressure, worries about the future and the growing idea of being a “pet parent” as factors that can shape whether couples want children.
Lyman Stone, a senior fellow and director of the Institute for Family Studies’ Pronatalism Initiative, noted that ultra-Orthodox Jewish families in Brooklyn have about six children on average, while their hipster neighbors have around 1.6. They share an economy, he said, but have very different family outcomes—something he attributes in part to cultural differences.
The researchers also examined whether dividing household work more evenly was connected to plans for having children. They found no statistically significant link between fertility intentions and either the allocation of chores or whether people considered that arrangement fair.
Stone said studies have often asked whether men doing more laundry or helping more at home might raise birth rates. The evidence, he said, does not show that it does. Fathers have become more involved at home over the past 30 years, he added, even as fertility rates have continued to fall.
One of the clearest connections in the report was between family plans and having friends who would welcome a new baby. People who thought their friends would celebrate a birth reported a desired family size that was 10% higher, and were 20% more likely to say they planned to have another child.
Stone said supportive peer groups matter across countries: when friends and social circles approve of and encourage family life, he said, families are more likely to thrive.
The influence appeared to extend to celebrities and other public figures people admire. Respondents who admired a celebrity with more children than they had were 14% more likely to intend to have another child.
Views about pets were also associated with family plans. Those who said they would rather be a “pet parent” than have children reported wanting 30% fewer children, and were 50% less likely to intend to have more.
Stone argued that pets themselves are not the issue. Rather, he said, the findings may reflect a belief that caring for an animal is as meaningful as raising a child—a comparison he does not think holds up.
Risk aversion, anxiety about the future and general pessimism were also associated with wanting smaller families. People more comfortable taking risks, and more hopeful about what lies ahead, tended to want and have more children.
Stone suggested that a persistent sense that everything is getting worse may be part of the picture. Having children does involve risks, he acknowledged, including physical, financial and emotional ones. But, he said, it can also bring substantial rewards.
Encouragement from parents was another factor linked to family plans. The report found that people whose parents encouraged them to have children wanted 11% more children on average and were 30% more likely to plan for another. Among childless adults living with a partner, parental encouragement to marry was associated with a 14% greater likelihood of intending to have a child.
Still, Stone cautioned parents against pressuring adult children or suggesting they owe them grandchildren. He said parents may have more success sharing what they enjoyed about raising a family and offering practical help when their children have kids of their own.
Religious commitment was also associated with larger families. Respondents with the highest levels of religious devotion had 9% more children and were 12% more likely to intend to have another.
The researchers did not find a statistically significant connection between hearing clergy discuss family and the number of children people had. Instead, the findings suggest that religious communities may influence family plans through friendships and practical support, such as bringing meals or celebrating a new baby.
Stone said religious people were more likely to have friends who supported them having children. He suggested that the bonds and mutual help people find in religious communities may matter alongside the communities’ beliefs and teachings.
Overall, Stone said, encouraging people to start or grow a family is not only a matter of government policy or financial incentives. Friends, relatives and neighbors can help create communities where raising children feels supported and valued.
People have an influence on those around them, he said. They do not have to wait for a new law to make a difference; they can support young families as friends, neighbors, parents and community members, and let them know that raising children is respected and worthwhile.
