IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.
IELTS Essay # 1118 - People decide to have children later in their life
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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Nowadays, more and more people decide to have children later in their life.
What do you think are the reasons for this?
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answe 1:
In recent years, an increasing number of individuals are opting to have children later in life. This shift in family planning can be attributed to various socio-economic and personal factors. While this trend offers numerous advantages, it also presents certain challenges that warrant consideration. In my opinion, this trend has more benefits than drawbacks.
One of the primary reasons for delaying parenthood is the pursuit of higher education and career advancement. In today’s competitive job market, many individuals, particularly women, prioritise establishing their careers and achieving financial stability before starting a family. For example, a woman who completes her postgraduate studies and establishes herself in a professional role by her early thirties may feel more equipped to provide a stable environment for her children. Additionally, societal shifts towards gender equality have empowered women to make informed choices about their reproductive health, further contributing to this trend.
There are some disadvantages of this trend. Biological challenges associated with delayed childbearing, such as decreased fertility and increased risk of complications, cannot be overlooked. Additionally, older parents may face generational gaps with their children, potentially impacting their ability to relate and engage with them effectively.
However, the advantages of this trend are considerable. Delayed parenthood often results in children being born into more financially secure and emotionally mature families. Parents who have achieved their personal and professional aspirations are likely to provide a nurturing environment, enriched with resources and stability. For instance, older parents may have accumulated savings and have a clearer sense of their life goals, which can translate into better opportunities for their children.
In conclusion, while the trend of having children later in life is driven by valid socio-economic and personal reasons, and offers substantial benefits, it is not without its drawbacks. On balance, the advantages, such as increased financial stability and emotional maturity, tend to outweigh the disadvantages, provided that individuals make informed and well-supported reproductive choices.
Model Answer 2:
These days, an increasing number of married couples delay their parenthood. The career-oriented mentality is the root cause of this current trend, and I believe it is a negative development because it leads to decreased fertility and health issues.
Today, many individuals become very passionate about their higher study and career development. They devote their twenties and thirties to achieving advanced degrees and distinguished careers. That is to say, young married couples are passionately engaging in their higher study and careers to ensure their career growth. For example, a career-oriented couple may prioritize their career dedicating time and energy to create a niche for themselves in their chosen profession. Once they manage to carve out a niche for themselves, then they may feel they are ready for parenthood in their late thirties or early forties.
However, delayed parenthood is associated with reduced fertility and increased health issues. In advanced maternal age, women’s ovarian reserve decreases, causing a decline in the quality and number of eggs available for fertilization. Consequently, women may face enormous challenges to conceive naturally and other increased health problems. For instance, a recent study finds that women in their late thirties and forties may face a greater likelihood of infertility, miscarriage, and gestational diabetes compared to their counterparts. Similarly, the adverse impacts of age also occur in men. From the age of forty, research finds that the rate of DNA fragmentation is higher which can cause genetic abnormalities in children. For these reasons, I think delayed parenthood is a negative development.
In conclusion, the reason behind late parenthood is that individuals are enthusiastically engaging in higher study and professional development. However, I feel that decreased fertility and other health problems associated with delayed parenthood are more significant downsides than some minor benefits that it may offer.
Sample Answer 3:
These days many couples decide to have babies at least a few years after their marriage and they are in their early thirties when they become parents for the first time. I believe career, social changes, and escalating living expenses are some of the major reasons behind this trend. In my belief advantages of having children later in life outweigh its demerits.
To commence with, a growing number of people, including women, are now serious about their career development. This is perhaps the primary reason they do not expect to have children in the early stage of their marriage. It is intuitively obvious that with huge competition, unemployment and economic crisis, people around the world are constantly worried about their careers and salaries. As a result, many decide to postpone their first childbirth. Secondly, women's empowerment and social changes have altered the old way of life where a woman's sole responsibility was to look after the children. Since many wives are working these days, they decide to take babies after they reach a certain position in their career. Furthermore, social beliefs regarding giving birth to children have changed dramatically, and people are more concerned about living expenses than the number of babies they have, unlike in the past.
Undeniably, people who choose to concentrate on their careers first and then have babies can take better care of their children due to better careers and economic freedom. Having offspring early in life can escalate the expenditures and financial responsibilities of parents. Moreover, if they do not spend enough time with children, they grow up with psychological issues. Thus, by having early children, young parents might put their careers at risk as well as the future of their children. Reversely, having offspring in early life has few advantages. Such parents have new members in their family, and their isolation would be extirpated, and they will become more family-oriented.
In conclusion, despite the pleasure of having a new baby in the early years of marriage, parents who decide to have babies later can focus on their career, fulfil financial goals and have sufficient time to spend with the family.
[Written by - Faisal ]
Model Answer 4:
With paradigm shifts in social beliefs and people's fascination with careers, they tend to become parents at a later stage. Several reasons are responsible for this, and I believe that it has more negative consequences.
To begin with, the average year when people get married those days has increased significantly. As a result, childbirth is naturally delayed. According to a recent survey, many young people who start their careers after their university graduation are more focused on their jobs than having their own family. Besides, many young people are undecided whether to marry or not. Eventually, when they get married, many of them are already in their mid-thirties, and they take some time to settle and have some financial stability before having their first child. Furthermore, the old belief that a girl should manage a family and have children earlier has changed, and more wives work in offices than ever. The decline of the joint family has also contributed to this trend as couples solely decide to have a baby, unlike in the past.
If we notice the severe detrimental impacts this trend has, we will surely try to reverse it. The most cynical outcome of this trend is the number of couples who struggle to become parents. It is scientifically proven that the infertility rate among couples is higher who try to become pregnant after their mid-thirties. Some couples eventually break up their marriages due to this, and it brings unfathomable social problems. Furthermore, having a child in the early years of marriage makes the couple more family-oriented and this eventually helps them have a better future.
To conclude, late marriage, nuclear family structure, and more focus on jobs are the main reasons people become parents at a later stage in their lives. I think this trend has more adverse results than positive outcomes. So it is expected that married people would carefully consider different negative and positive aspects of having babies later in their lives.
Many factors could be responsible for this trend. The most important reason is that in today’s era of cutthroat competition, young people have to focus on their jobs and therefore have little time for their families. What is more, women today have become more career oriented and do not wish to be held back by family responsibilitie s. Obviously, under such circumstances, committing to a serious relationship or starting a family, which means tremendous responsibility and dedication, is not a preferable choice for many. The increasing cost of raising a child is another barrier to parenthood, and this is especially obvious in major cities around the world.
This change of lifestyle can have some negative effects on the society as a whole. Firstly, low birth rates can result in an ageing population and a lack of labour force in the future. A greying society is a dependent society and is somewhat of a burden on the shoulder of the government. Medical care services can be in high demand, and medical costs can rise significantly due to this.
The families too can not escape the brunt of such a situation. The most disturbing effect is that the chances of congenital anomalies rise significantly if a woman bears her first child after the age of 40. Families with mentally or physically challenged children can never be happy families. Another effect can be that the age gap between parents and children is higher, so the chances of a generation gap are strong.
Summing up, there are many reasons which are responsible for people marrying late and having babies late in life, and this definitely is detrimental to societies and families. Therefore, young people should learn to give importance to both, a career and a family life.
Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?
Nowadays, having babies at least a few years later after getting married has become very common among couples, and there could be many reasons behind this trend, such as career preparation, social changes, escalating living expenses, and increased life expectancy. Of course, this attitude has more advantages than disadvantages for families and society.
To begin with, as the labour market has become very competitive, and unlike in the past women are now encouraged to study and work, having a great career has become the biggest concern for many people. So couples have become very busy and they avoid having a child in the earlier years of their marriage for a stable career. Furthermore, we are witnessing changes in social beliefs regarding having children as early as possible. Another factor that has caused this trend could be the soaring living expenses which make young couples think twice before deciding to have a baby early. Finally, people's increased life expectancy often make them think that they can have babies later in their life.
This has led to many advantages despite having a few demerits. Among the advantages, the female mortality rate at childbirth has been reduced dramatically all over the world. Besides, modern children receive better food, care, medical attention and education because their parents get ready for proper parenting before having a baby. However, as a downside, due to deciding to have a baby at a later stage in life, many parents can not conceive a baby. This leads to frustration, depression and apathy about life.
In conclusion, factors like career, financial security, social change and better life expectancy have helped a married couple take babies a few years later after their marriage and this trend has more positive outcomes than minor negative ones.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
It is true that many people are attracted to better professional life. It, directly and indirectly, affects their personal life and choice of parenthood. So such people decide to begin their family life later in their life and have babies in their thirties. It has many pros and cons. I personally believe that it has more benefits than disadvantages.
To begin with, nowadays many people are career-oriented and they want to be well educated and have better financial status in society. So people are focusing on higher education and good positions in good organizations. So they spend most of the time on those things rather than starting a family or having babies. So many of them are having children after the '30s. Thus they do not have to sacrifice their personal interests and career prospect. They can fully enjoy themselves without any responsibilitie s. If you have a baby at an early age, you need to sacrifice lots of things to raise the kid. First and foremost personal time. For instance, my aunt wants to be a government officer. So she decided to have children after getting a government job. So she chooses to be a mother in her mid-thirties.
On the other hand, if people want to start a family later in their life, it may cause many different health-related issues, especially for females. The best age to start a family is in the mid-twenties - according to many because it gives people time to concentrate both on career and family. Many successful people in our society have both successful careers and good family life despite their starting family at an early age.
To conclude, the family and babies come with big responsibilitie s. So people should first focus on their professional and personal life rather than deciding to become parents at an early stage.
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