News

May 22, 2023

Why Owning a Dog Is Not 'Less Stressful' Than Kids Shown in Viral Clip

Many couples opt for a dog in lieu of human children but underestimate how much of your attention they will end up demanding. One couple realizing that their dog has become their child are the owners

Many couples opt for a dog in lieu of human children but underestimate how much of your attention they will end up demanding.

One couple realizing that their dog has become their child are the owners of Treacle the cockapoo. In a video posted to the account @treacle_thecockapoo, with over 696,000 views, the text reads, "POV: You get a dog instead of having kids because it will be less stressful."

The video then cuts to Treacle in various situations, barking and demanding his owners' attention. Newsweek has reached out to Treacle's owners for comment.

The average cost of raising a child up to the age of 17, so without college fees included, is $310,000, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institute, as reported on by Forbes. In contrast, the lifetime cost of owning a dog, with a presumed life span of 15 years, can be anywhere between $19,893, to $55,132, according to research undertaken by Market Watch.

The U.S. birth rate fell by four percent from 2019 to 2020, the most extreme decline in a single year in almost 50 years, and the lowest number of births since 1979, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Climate change worries, a cost of living crisis and more opportunities for women are among the reasons why millennials are choosing to be child free.

The term DINK, which stands for "Dual Income No Kids" has reportedly been around since the 1980s when The Los Angeles Times published a piece about, "the millions of baby-boom couples who work for wages and, so far, don't have children. For those who are sick of the yuppie-buppie-guppie method of branding various socioeconomic groups, the debut of dink is being greeted with audible gasps of horror."

🫠 (IB: @Oliveyoufreddie ❤️) #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #dog #dogsoftiktok #cockapoo #treaclethecockapoo #pet

In lieu of having human children, many millennials, who are born between 1981 and 1996, are opting to get "fur babies" instead, with 80 percent of millennials owning at least one dog, according to PetFood Industry, which monitors market trends in the sector.

A study from 2017 found that participants framed their pets as not just family members but as surrogate children, and that their relationship with their pet might be enough to make them delay or decline to have children.

Users on TikTok loved the funny video.

"Babies that never grow up," said one user.

"And they also decide to throw up in the middle of the night....ON THE CARPET!" commented another user.

"Ahahaha 10000 percent and trying to find a baby sitter is a pain!" wrote a third user.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.