Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Well, people often joke that if they'd known that becoming a grandparent was so much fun, they would have done it before having their own kids.

Having grandchildren is widely considered among life's greatest joys, one that I hope to experience one day, and historically,

which most adults did experience. But today, there's a growing number of people who will never

have the experience of grandchildren. Grandparents in America are simply becoming more rare.

In 2014, 60% of people over 50 had at least one grandchild. By 2021, that had fallen to just

over half. Our historic decline in birth rates means that many who devoted their early lives to

raising families will spend their later years watching those families end. The main reason is that many millennials, the generation

that is now entering middle age, have chosen not to have children. Recently writing at the New York

Times, Catherine Pearson gave voice to what she called the unspoken grief of never becoming a

grandparent. The people she interviewed confess, and I quote again,

a deep sense of longing and loss when their children opt out of parenthood, even if they

understand at an intellectual level that their children do not quote unquote owe them a family

legacy. Parents of children who don't want children find themselves in a difficult spot, but especially

those who have bought

into the expressive individualist idea that children are a choice, and the only reason to have

them is to enhance personal happiness. If their children don't want children, well, these parents

are supposed to be okay with that decision, but apparently many are not. For example, one would-be grandmother

assured Pearson, quote, this decision was right for my kids. But then she added, sadly, I'm not going to have

grandchildren. That part of my life is just over. Others who face silent golden years when they

expected the patter of little feet are still hoping to convince

...