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A Gallup poll published in Sept. 2023 found that Americans’ preference for larger families hit its highest rate since 1971, but we seem to be having fewer children.
A total of 45% of Americans reported that they favor larger families, according to the Gallup study. Gallup’s measures of Americans’ preferred family size started in 1936, when 64% of respondents said they wanted at least three children. Preferences for families with three or more children peaked at 77% in 1945, following World War II. The years later are still referred to as the Baby Boom, with Americans’ wanting three or more kids until 1967.
Between 1967 and 1971, support for larger families “plummeted from 70% to 52%.” Gallup attributed this drop to fears about global population explosions and shifts towards women being more likely to enter the workforce. Other factors at the time included a grow acceptance and normalization of premarital sex, as well as concerns about the economy. (POLL: What’s Your Preferred Way To Get Exercise: Alone Or In A Group?)
Dropping Birthrates?
By 1973, Americans’ wanted an average of one or two children. It would appear that economic concerns are one of the main reasons people choose to not have or want larger families. Today, nine in 10 U.S. adults already have children or would like to, but scientists claim the practice is trending downward.
“[Birthrates] These numbers are declining; people are having fewer and fewer kids than ever before—and our world is reaching its limit of resources to even sustain the amount of people we have,” Bethany College faculty member Amanda Chappell told APA. “We’ve extended adolescence a bit,” said clinical psychologist Adam Duberstein. “I get the sense, too, that some people are OK with delaying the decision [because of] assisted reproductive technology.”
Many women are “aging out” of being able to have children as a result of this mindset, begging the question: are we having less kids because we want to, or because we have to? The data suggests the latter is true. (POLL: Do You Think That Social Media Platforms Should Be Regulated?)
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