Australians’ desire for children

Abstract

In this chapter we examine one important aspect of fertility - the desire for children. Data from the HILDA survey suggest that the average family size desired by Australians is over two children; higher than the TFR suggests will be achieved by current cohorts of childbearing women, and higher than the average family size achieved by women currently completing their childbearing. Desired family size varies by gender, education and relationship status. Males, the tertiary-educated, and single people expressed preferences for less than two children, on average. Enabled by the longitudinal HILDA data, the analysis examines the factors associated with changes in individuals' preferences over time. We demonstrate the importance of a number of variables classified as life course, structural and values/orientation factors. A change in relationship status from single to cohabiting or married is found to have a positive effect on desired family size, reinforcing the importance of partnering trends to fertility trends. Age is also critical. While it is well understood that the limitations on women's capacity to bear children diminish with age, this analysis shows that both men and women generally revise their fertility preferences downwards as they reach their late 30s and early 40s, regardless of how many children they already have. Men's preferences are also affected by any change in how they rate their level of satisfaction with economic opportunities, while women who rate their careers as a high priority are particularly likely to revise their fertility preferences downwards over time. Finally, those who consider that children provide purpose in life were more likely to report an increase over time in their desired number of additional children.