Seminar: „Childbearing desires and models of “good” parenthood among U.S. young adults”

The seminar, organised by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Labour Market and Family Dynamics (LabFam), will focus on parenting among young adults.

Guest speaker - Professor Sarah Hayford will present the latest research findings related to the analysis of the impact of so-called 'good parenting' pressures on delaying the decision to have a child. Based on data from in-depth interviews with childless young adults, attendees will learn about the envision of 'good' parenting and the extent to which these parenting logics relate to plans for future childbearing.

The event will be held on 28th May at 13:00, at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Warsaw University in Hall C.  The meeting will be conducted in English.

We invite you to participate!

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Abstract

After many years of stability, birth rates in the United States have recently declined to their lowest recorded level. This decline has been attributed in part to increasing economic precarity, particularly among young adults, coupled with high demands for investment in children. Still, most young people in the U.S. want to have children at some point. Understanding young people’s plans and goals for future childbearing is important for predicting future demographic trends. It can also shed light on the social meanings that young people assign to parenthood. In this talk, I draw on data from in-depth interviews with childless young adults to describe how young people envision “good” parenting and the extent to which these parenting logics are related to plans for future childbearing. Results suggest that young people feel a strong responsibility to provide emotional support as well as economic support to potential future children. The perceived emotional demands of parenting serve as a motivation for delaying parenthood.