The Feed's latest debate brings together a panel of online voices to discuss the question: Why Are More People Choosing a Child-Free Life, and Should Having Kids Still Be a Priority? It can be streamed now on YouTube .
Dita has a husband she loves, financial security and — on paper — the foundations for family life.
But the 37-year-old and her partner have decided not to have children, citing fears about the world their children would inherit as one of the main reasons.
"I'm very pessimistic. I'm surrounded by fear," Dita said during The Feed's debate.
Although Dita believes her husband would make a wonderful father, her concerns about artificial intelligence, climate change and global conflict have reinforced her reluctance to bring a child into a world she cannot control.
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The "nail in the coffin" was hearing about a doctor who had been charged with generating AI child sexual abuse material.
"Imagine a world where a man can just walk out, take a picture of your child and then upload it to AI … and be like, 'can you create child pornography of this?'" Dita said.
The decision is part of a broader trend — more young people are choosing to go child-free — resulting in Australia’s fertility rate falling to 1.481 births per woman in 2024, according to the ABS. A fertility rate of about 2.1 is generally considered necessary to maintain a population without migration.
The sense of uncertainty was reflected in Monash University's 2024 Australian Youth Barometer where affordable housing, employment and climate change were the three key issues identified as needing immediate action. The barometer, based on 620 young Australians aged 18-24, found that only about half of respondents thought they would have children in the future.
And according to the Growing up in Australia research report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, 65 per cent of the 4,407 young people surveyed were at least "somewhat concerned" about climate change, with higher environmental concern linked with lower hopes of having children.
Fewer Australians want to become parents, with the number of people reporting that they do not want children rising from 8 per cent in 2005 to 14 per cent in 2023, according to data from the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey.
"The cost of raising children and being able to buy a house are all factors becoming increasingly important in people's decision to have a child," Dr Pelin Akyol, a research manager at economic think tank the e61 Institute told The Feed.
A 2026 analysis commissioned for The Parenthood, a non-profit parental advocacy organisation, found that the cost of raising a family with children has increased 134 per cent since 2003 — and the yearly cost of raising two or more kids is about $36,500.
Akyol also said women are increasingly needing to prioritise their careers which is resulting in delaying — or entirely reconsidering — having children.
"Women put more emphasis on having time and energy for their career and they're reporting how important this factor is in their decision to have a child."
"We know that in Australia, the desired number of children is higher than the realised number of children," Akyol said.
But concerns about the world are only part of the decision. Dr Imogene Smith, a clinical psychologist and researcher at Melbourne's Cairnmillar Institute, said some young people were also questioning whether parenthood suited them personally, including whether they felt capable of being a good parent.
"People list something central to their identity … for example, 'I'm not maternal or paternal' as a primary reason [not to have kids]," Smith said.
"Things like fear of overpopulation or the environment often seem to be secondary to that — although it doesn't mean it's any less important."
Smith said changing social expectations had also given young people more freedom to question whether parenthood was right for them. Previous generations often viewed having children as the expected path, whereas today the decision is more openly discussed.
"We have much more social discourse around decision making and this decision in particular ... which means that it's front of people's minds and people know that they have a choice and they're exercising that choice," Smith said.
For those who do want to become parents, Smith said social media had made information more accessible, but had also left some prospective parents confused about how to raise children.
"Over the course of the last 50 years, we now have so many different 'expert opinions' about how to raise your child that people are reporting feeling confused now," Smith said.
Akyol said these expectations could affect how people perceive the cost of raising a child.
"Depending on a person's preferences about parenthood, they may also see the cost of having a child differently," she said.
"With the increasing role of social media in our life, people's view about being a better parent might have changed as well. We see parents providing a lot to their kids."
Stephanie Bastiaan, head of advocacy at Women's Forum Australia, a conservative think tank, said modern society was exaggerating the difficulties of parenthood.
"I do think we overthink it, particularly in this day and age where we're so top-heavy with influencers and content online," she said.
Bastiaan, a mother of five with another one on the way, said negative media narratives and concerns about children's wellbeing were overshadowing the positive aspects of raising a family and increasing fear in young people.
"We've got a generation of kids coming out with poor mental health because we are instilling all this fear," she said.
Bastiaan acknowledged the strain on working parents, particularly women, who she said often shoulder much of the emotional and practical burden of raising children.
"If you have both parents in an economy where they have to work, then you've got them coming home after a day of work. They then have two hours where they've got to emotionally give to their kids," Bastiaan said.
"And you can see why there's such a high rate of burnout, particularly for women where that usually falls to them."
But Bastiaan argued that society also needed to talk more about the positive aspects of motherhood and family life.
"I feel sad that you're giving up something that's so beautiful because of that fear," she told Dita during the debate.
George Mamalis, from conservative political advocacy group Turning Point Australia, believes negative attitudes towards having kids are having impacts on Australia’s future.
"The youth, they’re obsessed with climate change," Mamalis said on The Feed’s debate.
"I've actually heard in interviews kids saying they're not going to have kids because they're worried about climate change."
Mamalis believes people who opt out of parenthood are "selfish" and "entitled".
"It means that you're relying on those who are willing to have children," he said.
Lower fertility will be the main driver of slower population growth and faster ageing over the next four decades, according to the latest Intergenerational Report, however Australia’s population, which hit 28 million in June, is projected to grow to 39.3 million by 2065-66.
Smith said one way to ease the pressure was to reconsider what it means to be a good parent. She pointed to British paediatrician Donald Winnicott's concept of the "good enough parent", which emphasises providing children with the care, safety and love they need without striving for perfection.
"It has a very specific definition, and it means that you do enough to keep that child safe and happy and loved," Smith said.
The concept does not mean neglecting children's needs, Smith said, but recognising that parents cannot do everything perfectly.
She said the constant stream of parenting advice could make people feel they needed to meet unrealistic standards before they were ready to have children.
"The more they hear about how hard parenthood is, the more they're disinclined to participate," she said.
For Dita, the decision is also shaped by her own childhood. Growing up in a single-parent household, she watched her Indian-born mother work multiple jobs to support the family.
"I saw my mum struggle a lot," she said.
Dita said that although they could afford to provide for a child, she worried she and her husband’s demanding working hours would leave them without the time and energy to meet a child's emotional needs.
"We know that we would probably make terrible parents," she said.
Yet Dita has not ruled out motherhood entirely. If the obstacles were removed, she said she might reconsider. For now, she believes the decision should remain a personal one.
"At the end of the day, it's my body, my mind, my feelings, my choice. That's it."
Through award winning storytelling, The Feed continues to break new ground with its compelling mix of current affairs, comedy, profiles and investigations. See Different. Know Better. Laugh Harder. Read more about The Feed
Have a story or comment? Contact Us
