International Childfree Day Date in the current year: August 1, 2024

A lot of people are raised to believe that having children is a must, not a choice. In most societies, people who are childless at a certain age are looked down upon, especially when they are women and especially when not having children is a voluntary choice and not a decision caused by fertility issues or other health problems that may make a pregnancy dangerous.

The word “childfree” originated sometime in the early 20th century, but being voluntarily childless as a trend is a relatively recent phenomenon. It became possible due to the availability of reliable contraception or sterilization, as well as elderly care in developed nations that makes it possible not to rely on your children for care when you get old.

There are a lot of reasons for being childfree, ranging from simply not wanting to have children to being concerned with overpopulation. They can be divided into several big groups: personal and social, psychological and medical, economic and cultural, philosophical, and environmental. Ideally, childfree people don’t have to justify their choice, but in reality, they are often pressured to.

People who voluntarily choose not to have children face various misconceptions on a regular basis. For example, they often have to remind that being childfree is not the same as being childless because choosing not to have kids is different from being unable to. Childfree people aren’t necessarily obsessed with their careers, they don’t necessarily hate children and can be great aunts and uncles, and they are not more selfish than parents.

International Childfree Day was created to dispel these and other misconceptions. It was started by the National Alliance of Optional Parenthood, then named the National Organization for Non-Parents (NON). The organization designated August 1, 1973 as Non-Parents’ Day and announced a Female and Male Non-Parent of the Year. The winners were 25-year-old teacher and author Anna Silverman and 35-year-old philanthropist Stewart Mott.

Forty years later, the initiative was resurrected by childfree author and blogger Laura Carroll who sought out other childfree bloggers and authors and put together a team to bring back Non-Parents’ Day under a new name. The inaugural International Childfree Day was celebrated on August 1, 2013.

The International Childfree Day initiative presents an annual award to childfree people just like the NON used to. The original award categories were Childfree Man of the Year and Childfree Woman of the Year. In 2018, they were changed to Childfree Person of the Year (bestowed regardless of the recipient’s gender identity) and Childfree Group of the Year.

How can you observe International Childfree Day? If you’re childfree yourself, use it to raise awareness and dispel stereotypes and common misconceptions about being childfree. If you’re not opposed to having children but have friends or relatives who are childfree, reach out to them to let them know that you love them for who they are and respect their choice.