Fatherhood is a risk men aren’t willing to take

Recent reports that half of women in England and Wales are now childless by their 30th birthday reveal a worrying new attitude amongst Gen Z. Parenthood, to the younger generation, is the enemy of unfettered frivolity. Young women, we are told, would rather live for the moment than plan for the future. ‘Being present’ has become the mantra of the ‘mindful’ generation who see autonomy as the ultimate expression of a life well lived.

But how complicit are men in this myopic ‘me-only’ utopia we have created for ourselves? Are women actively rejecting the sort of men who would like to settle down or have the sort of men who once yearned to settle themselves become cynical about taking the plunge?

While both sexes feel trepidation about losing cherished freedoms, men are experiencing a much darker existential anxiety that isn’t simply about a loss of liberty. Although I-deserve-to-have-it-all infantilism has infected both sexes, women’s pragmatism in the face of diminishing odds tends to wake them out of their complacency although this hasn’t necessarily stopped many older women from delaying childbirth beyond the point of no return.