THE lack of financial means This is the main reason why Spaniards don’t have children. According to the survey by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) on “Fertility, family and childhood”, 77.3% of those questioned put forward this cause, well before the problems of reconciling work and family life, which came in second place for 44.1% of those questioned.
Furthermore, 26.4% decide not to have descendants so as not to hinder their professional career and 25.5 because they view children as a responsibility.
Furthermore, 58% of those questioned who do not have children would have liked to have them, while 36% did not. Regarding the ideal number of children, 49% agree that two children is ideal, 27.4% defend that three is best.
Concerning measures likely to facilitate professional and family life, the possibility of make the working day more flexible It has the most supporters (47.6%), while 31% are inclined to improve the fiscal treatment of income tax for families with children and 27.8% are inclined to support the personal help to people who cannot fend for themselves.
Likewise, one in five people consider that an appropriate measure would be to extend the maternity leave to working women, according to a study which compiles the results of 5,742 interviews with adults carried out between September 11 and 19, 2024.
Regarding the ideal age to have offspringthe majority considers that for both women and men, it would be between 25 and 19 years old. In fact, only 2.5% of those questioned consider that the best age for women is between 25 and 39, a percentage which rises to 7.8% for men.
Furthermore, 63.2% believe that between the ages of 31 and 40 is when women significantly lose the likelihood of having a pregnancy; In the case of men, the range of loss of the possibility of having children is between 41 and 50 years old, according to 33.8%.
Impact on professional life
93.1% “strongly agree or agree” that seeing their children grow up is the priority. the greatest pleasure of life80.7% agree that children represent an economic burden on parents and 69.9% “strongly agree or agree” that having children reduces the child’s opportunities for work and career advancement. one or both parents. On the other hand, 58.3% “strongly disagree or disagree” that having children improves people’s social prestige in society.
Concerning the impact on the professional life of parents, 53.7% of people think that having children affects the mother more in terms of reduced employment opportunities, compared to 0.5% which ensures that they affect the father more. And 15.1% say it affects both equally.
Asked about the birth of their first child, 24.3% of those questioned said they had used leave for the birth and care of a minor, compared to 25.4% who said they had not used it. As for the reduction of working hours Only 5.6% say they have used it, compared to 44.2% who say no. The parental leave figure is even lower, at 2.3%.
19.4% of people say that having their first child limited their possibilities for professional development, 15.3% say they accepted a job below their training and 15.6% reduced their activity. As for women, the percentage increases and 29.2% recognize that their promotion opportunities have been limited compared to 9% of men.
Household
The CIS survey also addresses time spent on household chores and according to the results of the investigation, and23% of women spend between 21 and 40 hours thereduring this same period, the percentage of men drops to 12%.
And when it comes to dedication to caring for a family member, the percentage between men and women is very different, especially when it comes to hours of dedication.
14.5% of women admit to devoting more than 41 hours per week to this task, while the number of men is reduced to 7.3%. 15.5% of women admit “that they do much more than their share at home”, this figure for men drops to 2%. Conversely, 3.1% of women say “that they do a little less than their share”, while when men are questioned, this figure rises to 15%.
If the question relates to the time spent caring for children or dependent persons, 14.4% of respondents spend between 1 and 7 hours per week, and 11% more than 40 hours per week.
However, work makes it difficult for 15% of those questioned to assume their family responsibilities and 27.3% admit that several times a week, they return from work too tired to do housework.
Regarding respondents’ concerns, The price of housing greatly worries 53% of those questionedfollowed by food prices (43%) and unemployment levels (42.5%).
For parents, education is the main problem for children. Thus, a third of those questioned are worried about the quality and level of education and a third also admit to being worried about the lack of education and values and 19% about the addition of screens. One in five respondents admit to being concerned about their family’s economic difficulties. Regardless, 43.2% believe that their children’s childhoods are happier than theirs.
