IELTS WRITING TASK 2 18/6/2020

In recent years, a rising number of young couples have decided not to have babies during the early years of their marriage. The causes of this appear to be focused on 2 areas, and a number of effects also appear to be possible.

Possibly the major factor here is the conversion of employment patterns. To be more specific, as women have more opportunities to pursue education and enter the workforce, they tend to delay settling down and having children. This is unavoidable in many cases since it is significantly stressful for a young couple with unstable economic situation to balance their budget due to costly childcare. Another cause is the belief that children are raised better by older parents mentioning that older fathers and mothers are generally wealthier, more experienced and more willing to take responsibility of bringing up a child.

The effects of this trend on families and society could be both advantageous and disadvantageous. On the positive side, children that raised by prosperous and experienced parents can receive more comprehensive education, thus being more likely to be successful, making an enormous contribution to the development of the society in the long term. However, this phenomenon can also affect family life in a negative way. In this case, the children may encounter difficulties adapting to their parents’ lifestyle when they grow up due to the significant gap between the two generations, leading to split-up relationships among family members.

In conclusion, the changing pattern of the workforce and parents’ will to offer better living conditions to their offspring combine together to make delayed childbirth more appealing, and the rise of such a trend can exert both positive and negative impacts on families and society.