Author: Laura

Laura Carroll is a seasoned editor, writes nonfiction, and is a leading voice on the childfree choice.
trick-or-treaters

The Childfree & Treats to Trick-or-Treaters

Posted on by Laura

I sure remember loving Halloween when I was a kid. I loved figuring out my costume and carving a scary pumpkin.I had no clue of the roots of this holiday, and I bet that’s the case for most kids today. Of course I loved being able to run around the neighborhood with friends, stopping at every house to add to a growing bag of candy. It was rare for a house to be dark – as in no one was home – so we would not ring the front door bell, and yell “trick or treat!” there.

Continue reading “The Childfree & Treats to Trick-or-Treaters” →

MBTI

Getting Personal: The Personality Brokers Book on the MBTI Inspires a Fun Look Back

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I just finished the audible version of The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing by associate professor of English at the University of Oxford, Merve Emre. Rather than post a review in my Book Review Corner, I feel inspired to write more of a personal piece. Why? I have a sentimental history with the Myers-Briggs. Continue reading “Getting Personal: The Personality Brokers Book on the MBTI Inspires a Fun Look Back” →

childfree wife

The Childfree Wife

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Shani Orgad, Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science, has a recent interesting piece on theconversation.com. Titled “’Wifehood’ is not old-fashioned–here’s why it matters,” she discusses what wifehood means in today’s marriages, but focuses on the marital context that includes motherhood.  What is ‘wifehood’ or the role of ‘wife’ in a childfree marriage? From interviews for Families of Two and qualitative data on heterosexual childfree married couples I’ve continued to collect since its publication, here’s the broad stroke of three that stand out. Continue reading “The Childfree Wife” →

childfree marriage

On the Childfree Marriage in Voluntary & Involuntary Childlessness: The Joys of Otherhood?

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I am happy to have contributed the chapter, “The Intentionally Childless Marriage,” to the just released book, Voluntary and Involuntary Childlessness: The Joys of Otherhood? (2018) published by Emerald Publishing in the UK. Continue reading “On the Childfree Marriage in Voluntary & Involuntary Childlessness: The Joys of Otherhood?” →

childfree people

A Cross-Check on “Most Popular Myths About Childfree People”

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Bright Side’s recent piece, “What Childfree People Really Want and Why They Deliberately Refuse to Have Children,” needs some serious cross-checking. Since the late 1990s, I’ve been gathering qualitative data on childfree people and have interviewed and talked with thousands of them. Let’s look at the “most popular myths about childfree people” Bright Side talks about: Continue reading “A Cross-Check on “Most Popular Myths About Childfree People”” →

2018 Childfree

The Winners! The 2018 Childfree Person & Group of the Year

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Happy International Childfree Day!

As you may know, on International Childfree Day, childfree winners are announced. This year the winner categories were Childfree Person of the Year and Childfree Group of the Year. As head of the Selection Panel, I have to say this year the Panel faced the the toughest decisions yet! Here are the 2018 childfree winners: Continue reading “The Winners! The 2018 Childfree Person & Group of the Year” →

International Childfree Day

The Nominations for the 2018 Childfree Person & Group of the Year Are In!

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The nominations for the 2018 Childfree Person of the Year and Childfree Group of the Year have gone to the Selection Panel. Winners will be announced on August 1, International Childfree Day!

Meanwhile, want to know about past winners? Check them out Here!

Morning Consult

On a Recent Morning Consult and New York Times Survey on Having/Not Having Children

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The recent article, “Americans Are Having Fewer Babies. They Told Us Why,” discusses a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for The New York Times. It reports on survey results regarding why “young adults are having fewer children than their ideal number” as well as why they aren’t sure and why they don’t want them at all. Let’s take a brief look at the ‘aren’t sure’ and ‘don’t want them’ group of respondents. Continue reading “On a Recent Morning Consult and New York Times Survey on Having/Not Having Children” →

World Population Day

World Population Day, 2018

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Today is World Population Day 2018; it’s an annual event observed on July 11, and was founded to raise awareness of global population issues. The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, approximately the date on which the world’s population reached five billion people.”  The Population Clock shows the world population increases in real time-the last I looked it was: Continue reading “World Population Day, 2018” →

rates of childlessness

A Long-Range Glance at Rates of Childlessness

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Pew Research Center has some hot off the press fertility statistics. In addition to figures relating to motherhood postponement and average numbers of children, the data include “rates of childlessness” from many countries. The reported numbers inspired me to review statistics from the past to get a feel for more of a longer range picture. Continue reading “A Long-Range Glance at Rates of Childlessness” →