The trend of raising pets instead of taking care of children is flourishing in the US

Lisa Rochow, 24, is a social work student and her husband Cameron Wheeler, 26, is a high school history teacher, preparing for a master's degree, and currently lives in Michigan, USA. They had no plans to have children, but they did have a special "baby" - Aery - a 9-week-old Siberian Husky puppy.

“I felt like I was going to have to give up a lot to be a parent,” says Rochow. It costs money, time, giving up things you want to do.” She said she realized she didn't want to have children since high school. She met Wheeler through Tinder at a music festival and he shares this ideal of living with her.

The couple were two of those who decided not to have children. They feel that the money they save by not having children can be used to pursue their personal careers and hobbies.

Choosing not to have children

Over the past several decades, the number of married couples without children in the US and UK has increased. In 1970, 40 percent of couples had children, and that proportion had halved by 2012, according to the US Census Bureau. Although this statistic does not include unmarried couples with children, it still shows variation in the traditional family unit.

At the same time, research by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that childless couples spent more on pets than any other type of family between 2007 and 2011.

Dr Amy Blackstone, professor of sociology at the University of Maine, said: 'One way for families who decide not to have children to express their nurturing instincts is through their connection with pets.

Blackstone shared that she once interviewed a divorced couple and they had to make a decision about custody of the cats. Both of them consider them their own children. In the end, one person got custody of the cats, while the other agreed to visit them regularly.

Special children?

If you search for the term “fur baby,” you will find several definitions of pet that are specific to childless couples. However, the idea that pets will replace children is a controversial topic within the very community of people who decide not to have children.

In the r/childfree subreddit, 594,000 members discuss their choice to live without children. Some people argue that children and pets are not equivalent, while others are willing to admit that it is better to have a cat than a child.

For Rochow and Wheeler, as well as young couples in the US and other countries, the decision to not have children is as meaningful as the decision to adopt a pet.

"We were a little bit scared because of Aery last week," said Rochow. She reacts the way any new parent would when their baby shows signs of illness and rushes to take the pet to the vet.

Aery had to go to the dog emergency room and cost the couple nearly $1,000. She added: “I imagine that an emergency using an ambulance – or even just an emergency room visit for a child – would cost nowhere less than $1,000. This is impossible".

Besides saving money, Rochow says their decision also saves "emotional costs". “I am a social worker. I know how people are living out there. And to be able to give a child everything he needs – I really feel like I can't do that.”