The costs of ‘good’ parenting: intensive parenting beliefs and the decision to remain childfree

Fertility rates have declined across advanced societies, yet cultural factors shaping childbearing decisions remain underexplored. Research often emphasises economic or policy explanations, overlooking how contemporary parenting norms influence decisions to remain childfree. This article examines how the perceived demands and expectations of contemporary parenthood are associated with plans to remain childfree in Iceland, a Nordic welfare state characterised by strong family policies and high gender equality. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, we first conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 voluntarily childfree individuals and couples and identified three themes concerning contemporary parenthood: parents must make sacrifices to prioritise their children’s needs; parenthood is physically and emotionally taxing; and parents need to be experts. These themes informed the development of a 12-item survey instrument administered to 198 childless adults aged 25–45. Logistic regression shows that stronger beliefs in high sacrifice and expertise significantly increase intentions to remain childfree, controlling for sociodemographic factors. The findings suggest that intensive parenting norms are a key cultural mechanism shaping fertility intentions in contemporary developed contexts. The findings suggest that contemporary parenting expectations may shape childbearing intentions by raising the perceived demands of entering parenthood, highlighting the importance of cultural and normative factors in understanding fertility decline.