The number of births in the United States peaked at 4.3 million in 2007. The following year, in 2008, nearly one-third of women aged 20 to 24 and more than half of those aged 25 to 34 were spending time caring for household children on an average day.
Skip ahead 10 years to 2018. The fertility rate is at an historic low. The annual number of births is 12 percent below the 2007 high. Only 18 percent of women aged 20 to 24 were caring for household children on an average day in 2018, down from 32 percent in 2008. Among women aged 25 to 34, the share who were caring for children had fallen from 54 to 46 percent. Men were not making up the difference either, with declines in the percentage of men who were caring for children in both age groups. In contrast, in the older 35-to-44 age group, there was little change over the decade in the share who participated in child care.
Percent caring for children on an average day by age and sex, 2008 and 2018
| 2018 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 20 to 24 | 11.3% | 20.1% |
| Women | 18.4 | 32.0 |
| Men | 4.2 | 8.3 |
| Aged 25 to 34 | 35.0% | 41.3% |
| Women | 45.8 | 53.5 |
| Men | 24.2 | 29.1 |
| Aged 35 to 44 | 45.6% | 45.9% |
| Women | 55.9 | 54.1 |
| Men | 35.1 | 37.5 |
What else are young adults doing while they wait to have kids? They are not more likely to work, nor are they more likely to socialize with friends and family. But they are more likely to be in school. The percentage of people aged 20 to 24 who participated in educational activities on an average day grew from 20 to 25 percent between 2008 and 2018. Young adults also are more likely to use a computer or go online—a larger share were surfing the internet and playing games on an average day in 2018 than in 2008.
Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey
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