Family and the Value of Children: Reproductive Decisions in Chile

One of the changes in family trends that has drawn more scholarly and policy attention has been the steady decline in fertility rates. Chile is one of many countries in which the number of children per woman has fallen below the replacement rate of 2.1—one of the lowest in Latin America. Using data from the Bicentennial National Survey, a nationwide study, we examine age-related changes in normative attitudes towards family life and the value allocated to having children for an individual’s happiness and life project. Our results show that there is a consensus about the emotional gratification and personal growth having offspring brings, with no differences by sex or age group. However, the 18 to 35 age group seem to be more aware of the difficulties of raising children—both material and in terms of care work—which must be weighed up when making reproductive decisions.