Voluntary childlessness

Voluntary childlessness, childfreeness, or being childfree, describes the voluntary choice not to have children.

This article is about the choice not to have children. For the inability to have children despite one's desire to have them, see Childlessness ยง Involuntary.

In most societies and for most of human history, choosing not to have children was both difficult and undesirable (except for celibate individuals). The availability of reliable contraception along with support provided in old age by one's government or by one's savings rather than one's family has made childlessness an option for some people, though they may be looked down upon in certain communities.

The word childfree first appeared sometime before 1901 and entered common usage among feminists during the 1970s, The suffix -free denotes the freedom and personal choice of those to pick this lifestyle. The meaning of the term childfree extends to encompass the children of others (in addition to one's own children), and this distinguishes it further from the more usual term childless, which is traditionally used to express the idea of having no children, whether by choice or by circumstance. The term child-free has been cited in Australian literature to refer to parents who are without children at the current time. This may be due to them living elsewhere on a permanent basis or a short-term solution such as childcare.

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