[July 15, 2025] In a recent attempt by Dr. Jordan Peterson and his colleagues, they decided to create an appropriate timeline for young women. The reason is that they have no real guidance. No one tells them that both culture and biology impose severe constraints.
“Half of Western women, 30 and under, have no children. Half of them will never have a child, and 90% of them will regret it. This is a catastrophe. This means we’re setting up one woman in four for isolation. And this is increasingly brutal as you get older” — Dr. Jordan Peterson
Dr. Peterson is concerned that these women who will never have children and who regret that decision are being set up like never before in the history of the West. This means that in their later years, they’ll have no one to keep an eye out for them, especially during times of vulnerability. And this is not going to have a good outcome.
“One couple in three have fertility problems by the age of 30. It seems pretty obvious that all the reproductive technologies, notwithstanding that they are very expensive, are notoriously unreliable. Having your children before you’re 30 is a wise move, if you want to ensure it’s going to happen.”
Women are biologically designed to have children in their 20s and younger, which is going to be more demanding for them. However, it also presents an opportunity because each child requires about three years of dedicated care. Since many parents want two or three children, that’s about five or six years that must be devoted to those children.
On average, women live six or seven years longer than men. What Dr. Peterson points out is that a woman starting her career at 30 could have 40 years of career, which is a significant amount of time.
There are no fundamental guidelines, developmentally, for young women. And these women don’t know what to do. These same women are increasingly not married and don’t have children. They are also increasingly unhappy and develop considerable mental health problems.
While there are traditional values associated with single, no-child women, it appears nonetheless that a career is no substitute for family life and children. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it’s unlikely there’s any way around it.
“Most young women who are popular and attractive have got five chances to establish a permanent relationship and that’s about it.”
As women age, it becomes harder for them to establish relationships. They become more different from others, and that means it’s harder to establish a relationship. That’s a big problem in part because of what men are left to choose from.
You can listen to the whole thing here, where Dr. Peterson explains his reasoning for establishing a timeline for women.
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Our youth today are being spoiled with lots of goodies but without wisdom. School teachers at one time helped. But today, public school teachers are part of the neo-Marxist Woke crowd. Never trust a public school teacher.
It’s always a great pleasure and educational to read articles like this one on where, specifically, our social education is lacking. We already know the formal education system in America sucks. Add on top of that that norms are changing and we are not teaching the basics of an”good life” to young women (or men, for that matter) is a self-inflicted tragedy.
American Girl, absolutely correct. ✅
…. as always, she is. And thank you too.
Good that Dr. Peterson is getting involved in looking at the issue of women too. His calling is for lifting up men because of the marginalization of them in our hyper-feminized society. We are weaker for the feminine, maybe “Feminist” is a better word. Either way, men do need help, esp. young men. But women too, becuase after being told that men are evil, etc (all lies, of course), the women were like, “what” … what happened to the men? Well, gues what, they were paying attention and they decided to opt out of the scene with women. So the “independent woman” is without a mate and she is depressed more than ever.
If only, if only ………………………….
Excellent summary of one of the most important decisions in the life of a young woman.
I know that this discussion is hard for a man but it does help us women to have an understanding partner in life. And, while I do agree with Dr. Peterson so many women will regret not having children, as long as they are married or in an enduring relationship, then they might have a “good life.” But their health is a variable not to be underestimated. Poor health and not having a responsible adult child, can create a bad situation. Yes, even today we might just have to rely upon our children helping us out in our old age. This is a moral obligation. And that obligation must be followed for the good of everyone.
Good points, Liz. And thx. 👍 It is easy for young, smart, privileged women to overlook the lessons here, I find it crucial they have regular conversations with older women, esp. those in their late-30s and 40s to see the struggles where they cannot go back to redo bad decisions. Children and marriage are the right path for women. Those who ignore this fact, will live to regret it.
AMAZING. THANK YOU.
Yep, Dr. Jordan Peterson is a great man with extraordinary ideas, we should listen closely to his message that tells us to adopt responsibility in our lives, for this most difficult path is the way to a good life. And to read more on a “good life,” then read Gen. Satterfield’s book “55 Rules for a Good Life” ——-
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
You won’t go wrong.
Something our mothers should be telling their young daughters.