Nowadays, many people have a tendency of delaying their parenthood. This phenomenon can be attributed to some key reasons, which will be examined in this essay along with several significant benefits and drawbacks before concluding that this development is more negative overall.
Firstly, there are two primary reasons why many adults choose to have babies at am older age. Perhaps the foremost reason is that they choose to emphasize individualism. This is because delaying giving birth gives adults more time to find education and employment opportunities, climb up the career ladder and achieving work-life balance and financial stability, along with fulfilling their personal desires such as travelling or entertaining themselves. Another reason is that social perception about giving birth has changed in many countries. For instance, most young adults are no longer forced to have children early by old social norms and prejudices and affected by traditional views of their predecessors. Because of these, it is totally understandable why delaying parenthood is popular.
Concerning the benefits and drawbacks of this phenomenon, it is true that it creates more space for adults’ personal development, especially for women. As mentioned, they are given more time to achieve a balanced life between work and personal activities and get a stable income source. However, having children at an older age is not only more difficult due to the decline in fertility rate, but also contributes to serious health issues such as bone and joint diseases. Therefore, delaying parenthood is not an ideal choice, especially for women.
Moreover, there are also an underlying health risk for children whose parents choose to give birth later. In fact, the later the parents choose to have kids, the higher the chance that the baby will suffer from Down syndrome or even stillbirth. Furthermore, delaying parenthood would eventually results in an aging population, where the economy is stagnated due to labour shortages and social welfare systems put enormous financial burden on young tax-payers.
In conclusion, there are two main reasons why people decide to have kids at an older age, such as the emphasis on individualism and the change in social perception. While there are some benefits of this trend, with more space for personal development being the key advantage, I would argue that the drawbacks associated with health problem for both mothers and offsprings and an aging population are far more pronounced.