Commonly argued on different social media platforms, especially TikTok, netizens are blown away by today’s concept of being childless after marriage, as it gives them more freedom to deal with their finances.
In today’s generation, “Dual Income With No Kids,” or DINK, was typically used to describe themselves from being childless and free to expanding themselves to supporting a child after their marriage.
According to experts, DINK pushes couples to focus more on their careers and growing themselves as they engage in a child-free lifestyle wherein their only goal is to sustain their own daily needs.
In other countries, one out of eight couples were described as engaging in such a lifestyle, and the main reason is that they do not want to experience financial strain due to raising a child.
This was then supported by other international studies, as they see couples who are included in the DINK category as having more financial freedom and accomplishing enough work-life balance in their daily lives.
In the Philippine setting, DINK couples experience a bit of discrimination from society, noting that most Filipinos have a high perspective when it comes to having a child in a family to continue their clan legacy.
As indicated in a local study, childless couples commonly experience invalidations from people about their chosen lifestyle. Hence, they are still firm with their decision, as they believe that having a child requires a big responsibility that they are not currently prepared for.
Just like international studies, Filipinos also consider the finances and environment that they are in, as they choose not to have a child after marriage.
This has then been reflected in the fertility rate of the country in 2022; about half of the married Filipino women population do not want to bear more children for their families.