New Study: More and More People Choose Dogs Instead of Children

Parenting has never been an easy task, and perhaps that's why more and more people are walking their dogs in the park instead of pushing strollers.

A new study has confirmed what has been suspected for some time. There is a correlation between the rising number of dogs in households and the declining birth rate. In short, many couples are increasingly choosing dogs over children.

"Just One Side of the Story"

Scientists from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary emphasize that the reason is not just that parenting is “harder.”

Professor Ádám Miklósi Kubinyi explains that some research shows dog owners often have a more negative view of motherhood, and women who already have a dog perceive parenting as an added burden, which may discourage them from having more children.

But, as he says, that is only one side of the coin. He adds that the number of dogs in the U.S. has increased by as many as 37 million since 1996, which is significantly more than the growth in the number of children during the same period.

Australians are also crazy about pets. According to data published by the RSPCA in 2023, there are about 28.7 million pets living in Australia, with dogs being the most common, present in as many as 48 percent of households.

Australian families spend nearly 2,000 euros per dog annually on average. In Croatia, 29 percent of households have a dog, which is in line with the average European trends.

We Love Dogs, But More Than Babies?

So are we really so in love with dogs that we choose them over children? Kubinyi says there’s a deeper problem behind this phenomenon, namely the declining social and family support for parents, reports Sombor.info.

“In Western societies, people increasingly feel a lack of care and support within the family, so they try to compensate for that with dogs – and probably cats as well,” he says.

It is precisely that lack of a sense of community and the disappearance of the "village it takes to raise a child" that discourages many from parenthood, the professor believes. The declining birth rate, which worries governments around the world, thus goes hand in hand with the increasing number of pets.

“We need to strengthen family-based social support and reduce social isolation. Dog ownership is a wonderful thing – especially when it brings people together,” said Kubinyi.