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| The niece and nephew looking cute and innocent (such good actors ;-) |
Hello there lovelies~
I recently learned the acronym DINKS (double
income no kids). Now I’m sure that due
to my disconnect with technology I’m among the last people under the age of
like 40 to learn this acronym; however, once I discovered it, I loved it. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly
want to be a DINKS family. For some odd
reason I have always wanted a large family despite the fact that I’m not much
interested in children under the age of one and refuse to babysit a child for
more than a few hours if that child is not potty trained. Not to mention the fact that older children
(ages 2 and beyond) have just started growing on me in the last few years (my
feelings about teenagers are still questionable). However, this term did really get me thinking
about our generation and wondering if more couples are choosing to be DINKS. When I think of my friends/acquaintances that
are married or in serious relationships, having children don’t seem to be much
of a priority. So many of my friends
seem to be focused on careers, having fun, and enjoying their spouse that
children just don’t play into the picture (at least for now). I began to wonder what this shift in thinking
(I don’t think many of our parents and generations before had this mentality)
may be most likely due to. The answer I
came up with is IDK. A few possibilities
that crossed my mind include recession (children are expensive!), more
opportunities for our generation, we’re now a more career driven society,
longer life span (why rush kids if we’ll live to be 100?), and increased safety
in older pregnancies. Although I don’t want
to be a DINKS couple I would like to hold off on children for a bit after I get
married. To me, it’s important to enjoy and
get used to being a married couple before throwing children in the mix.
Anyhoo, I just thought this DINKS thing was
an interesting phenomenon that deserved a post.
Let me know what you think, are we as a generation waiting longer to
have children (or opting for none at all), if so why do you think that is? Let me know!
Tootles for now!
Wow. Very interesting. I've never heard of this term before, but I think it definitely describes my ideal future. Of course, I'm sure my sister would not want to hear that since she insists that I'm depriving my nephew of a cousin. However, I agree that the mentality of our generation is drastically different from those before us. I would like to add that my mom has played an integral role in my belief that DINKS are ok. She has been the one to constantly tell me career first. Live your life to the fullest BEFORE you have children. So I have made a conscious decision to take that advice. And although I'm currently a SINKS (single income no kids), I do hope that at some point in the future, my hubby and I will be content being DINKS, at least for a little while! I feel that it will only enhance our relationship and make us stronger parents when that day comes.
ReplyDeleteHey Breana,
DeleteThanks for the comment. I think that it's interesting that your mother encourages you to wait to have children. I feel that a lot of our parents (mine not included) don't understand why people in our generation prefer to wait to have children. Personally, I also want to wait to have children. I agree that being married for a bit before the little ones come will help to enhance our relationship. In my mind, it just seems so much better to spend time being a married couple, which I've heard requires a lot of adjustment, before making things more complicated with children. Also, although children are wonderful, childre make it so much harder to be alone which is when it seems you and your spouse would be most likely to really grow together, learn each other and enjoy one another. So, I'm okay being a SINKS for now (I really like SINKS by the way!), and after I get married I want to be a temporary DINKS couple.