Love, not duty, drives young Estonians to have children — even as the country worries about its falling birth rate, a researcher at the University of Tartu finds.
Kairi Kasearu, a professor of empirical sociology at the University of Tartu, has studied why many young Estonians hesitate to become parents. Her research shows that, contrary to common belief, young people actually value family highly.
“If you look at surveys, young people regard family as very important, sometimes even more than older generations,” Kasearu said. What has changed, she explains, is how family is understood.
For some, family means a future household of their own; for others, it centers on relationships with parents or siblings. Kasearu recalled a Western scholar who once said defining family was “like nailing jello to a wall.”
Her studies also reveal that broader societal shifts shape these values. In the 1970s, children were often still seen in utilitarian terms — as future workers or as support for parents in old age.
Read more: ERR.EE
