THANE: Ekta and
Satish Shah (name changed) were sipping their drinks while they were having a little chat with their friends, who were busy running after their two-year-old making sure he does not eat anything fallen on the floor. Looking at the child and his parents running around the house, the couple looked at each other and decided in unison to not have a child.
This decision seems to have become common among a number of couples and the Shahs are no exception, as the community of the Double Income No Kids (
dink) couples is growing.
The most common reason that the couples stated is that their office timings are so unusual that they may find it difficult to handle an added responsibility of having a child and will not even be able to give the child time.
“Working in an IT sector, though I have a log in time at work, I’m not sure about when I will be able to return home and same is the case with my husband as he is in the creative field and has to stay till late at work till his project gets completed. Whatever little free time we get we wish to spend it with each other as it has just been a year since we got married. So in this scenario if we have a child it would be unfair on him or her as we will not be around to nurture the kid, and it does not make sense to keep them with their grandparents, at a crèche or with a nanny. Also, earlier it was easier for couples to have children as they used to get married early, but now people are getting married late and are not even settled in time to have a child,” said 30-year-old Ekta.
Not only has the factor of time played a role for this decision, but also the fact that everything has become expensive. The couples claim that the only goal in their lives is not to get married and have children, but other priorities too are important. Many are ambitious and do not want to give up on luxuries of life. Some even stated that they don’t wish their child to be a part of the depressing world wherein crimes and cruelty have increased, global warming has reached a different level, etc.
“The job scenario has changed and very few have a permanent job. My wife and I are doctors and we do not get a fixed amount of money every month. Our financial condition keeps fluctuating. At this point it will prove to be a very expensive affair to have a child. Also, since we finished our studies late we are now able to do things that we wanted. The other most important reason is that the world has become a horrible place to live in and we don’t want our child to be born in this cruel world,” said 31-year-old dentist Dr Archit Ghangurde.