what is this lifestyle chosen by certain couples?

Today’s lovers no longer really aspire to have children like their parents or grandparents once did. Indeed, the logical route followed by the two lovers is no longer the same as before: after becoming a couple, getting married, moving in; does not necessarily come from the conception of children. This way of life, more and more popular today, is none other than the “DINK lifestyle”. Behind this acronym, there is actually a rather explicit sentence: “Double Income, No Kids”. Thus, the partners who live according to this DINK lifestyle are both professionally active and are not parents; they have two salaries and have no children.

We might believe it to be a recent phenomenon, but this trend is not new. Named for the first time forty years ago, it is reborn today thanks to social networks, where Internet users have approached it nearly 200,000 times on TikTok and Instagram in recent months. Even Elon Musk took the trouble to speak out on the subject; that is to say if the latter is causing people to talk. He has a strong opinion on the issue and does not seem at all enthusiastic about this lifestyle which nevertheless does not lack popularity: “there is a horrible morality about those who deliberately do not have children: they actually demand that other people’s children take care of them in their old age”**, he posted on X in response to the video of a DINK couple, extolling the benefits of a “childfree” life. We tell you everything about this lifestyle that appeals to Generation Z.

The DINK lifestyle has financial advantages

There are many motivations for couples who consciously choose the DINK lifestyle. As you might expect, the advantages are first and foremost financial. No children to manage, that’s one less burden on the wallet. With two cumulative salaries to be distributed between two recipients, the budget is less tight and the heart lighter:

“We don’t have any additional expenses related to a child (…) it’s much more comfortable,” explains Taylor Graves, a thirty-year-old who chose the DINK lifestyle to our colleagues at CNBC.***

Who says family, also says home: welcoming a newborn implies having a home large enough to raise him and see him grow in the best conditions. According to a study conducted by The Harris Poll and mentioned by our colleagues from Forbes33% of DINK couples say they chose this lifestyle because of the high price of housing.****

Remain the priority of your life

Beyond this financial stability and security, it is also the fact ofbe and remain the priority of one’s own life which appeals to fans of this lifestyle. Without children, all the money and all the time we have is then devoted to our desires, our activities, our person. “We can focus on what we want to do, put a lot of money aside for the future and worry a lot less about the daily finances of the house and our bills…”* **, adds Taylor Graves. In every way, we put ourselves first, we are the priority.

Conversely, when you are a parent, you “sacrifice” your life for that of your little one; the toddler’s needs become such a priority that we sometimes end up ignoring our own. Our well-being depends on an external element, and no longer just on ourselves: and it is this unpredictability that Delanie Fischer, a DINK lifestyle fan who confided in our colleagues at Popsugar UK : “As individuals, we really enjoy our daily lives as they are; as a couple, we enjoy working together on our common goals, and we try to prevent and reduce stress as much as possible.”*** ** Children being a potential source of additional stress, they simply prefer to avoid it… A bias which is also the basis of the criticisms of detractors: for them, the DINK lifestyle is synonymous with selfishness, more than individualism. The DINK lifestyle is, after all, choosing multidimensional freedom; “not only in terms of time, but also financially, creatively and energetically”*****explains Delanie Fischer.

Climate and political concerns that slow down the desire to have children

One might think that the DINK lifestyle is only motivated by self-centered, egocentric, or even selfish reasons on the part of the people involved; but they can be more altruistic than they seem. Thus, for many couples who have chosen it, these are environmental issues (28%) and policies (31%) who curb their desire to have little ones: by giving birth, they fear contributing to global warming, the overpopulation of the planet, or even that their children will be born into a world that will be hostile to them .****

However, DINKs don’t hate children : they simply think that the role of dad and/or mom is not in line with their life aspirations, their temperament: “We also respect the magnitude of the commitment and responsibility of being a parent, but it’s just not for us”supports Delanie Fischer in the columns of Popsugar UK.

Finally, some people simply don’t want to have children; and this is a more than sufficient argument for them not to have any in fact in the end. No need to look for an additional reason to legitimize their point of view.

Freelance journalist

Open-minded and in love with life, Emilie likes to decipher the new phenomena that shape society and relationships today. Her passion for human beings motivates her to write…