When talking of talking about the childfree, the acronym "DINK" is typically some of it. DINKs are "dual income no youngsters" couples. The term first started to be used about 10 years back. There was one myth about DINKs then that still remains todayâ€"that DINKs have plenty of disposable cash.
They must, right? Sure, they don?t have to spend all the money it takes to raise kids. But simply because they don?t have youngsters does not mean they have fat accounts heaps of adult toys, and the cash for costly travel. Quite the contrary. The truth of the matter is the childfree are across the socioeconomic range.
The socioeconomic status of DINKs seems fall into an ordinary distribution?a small % are on the higher end and fit the myth of the DINK. They are in the higher socioeconomic echelons. At the other end, there's a little percentage that fall on the lower socioeconomic end. Similar to the childfree in general, many childfree on this end of the spectrum take the kid call very seriously. Those on the bottom of the socioeconomic continuum can come to the decision they're not going to have youngsters because they can't justify the price or are unhappy to do what it would most likely take to afford them, e.g, get a second job and not spend sufficient time with their youngsters as a consequence.
The majority fall somewhere on the rest of the ordinary distribution continuum?in that large category called the middle class, from upper middle to lower, and everything between. They come from all kinds of life and are in spread of professions.
But sites like thedinklife.com and nochildrenbychoice.com paint the picture of DINKs as only people who are on the higher end, people who can afford the boats and the glamorous travel. As fantastic as this might look, this just does not represent lots of those that do not have youngsters by choice. Even ?dual earnings? Is sometimes not accurate. Sometimes one partner doesn't work outside of the home, and many other times especially these days, one partner is not earning revenue right now?they are on the lookout for a job.
So when you see the term DINK, remember it's not associated with the word ?childfree. ? DINKs are one slice of the childfree population, not the entire pie!
They must, right? Sure, they don?t have to spend all the money it takes to raise kids. But simply because they don?t have youngsters does not mean they have fat accounts heaps of adult toys, and the cash for costly travel. Quite the contrary. The truth of the matter is the childfree are across the socioeconomic range.
The socioeconomic status of DINKs seems fall into an ordinary distribution?a small % are on the higher end and fit the myth of the DINK. They are in the higher socioeconomic echelons. At the other end, there's a little percentage that fall on the lower socioeconomic end. Similar to the childfree in general, many childfree on this end of the spectrum take the kid call very seriously. Those on the bottom of the socioeconomic continuum can come to the decision they're not going to have youngsters because they can't justify the price or are unhappy to do what it would most likely take to afford them, e.g, get a second job and not spend sufficient time with their youngsters as a consequence.
The majority fall somewhere on the rest of the ordinary distribution continuum?in that large category called the middle class, from upper middle to lower, and everything between. They come from all kinds of life and are in spread of professions.
But sites like thedinklife.com and nochildrenbychoice.com paint the picture of DINKs as only people who are on the higher end, people who can afford the boats and the glamorous travel. As fantastic as this might look, this just does not represent lots of those that do not have youngsters by choice. Even ?dual earnings? Is sometimes not accurate. Sometimes one partner doesn't work outside of the home, and many other times especially these days, one partner is not earning revenue right now?they are on the lookout for a job.
So when you see the term DINK, remember it's not associated with the word ?childfree. ? DINKs are one slice of the childfree population, not the entire pie!
About the Author:
Laura Carroll is the author of Families of Two, is an expert on the childfree choice, and discusses this topic and much more at her top childfree blog, La Compete Childfree.
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