Meanings
- pluralplural onlyA stereotypical characteristic of normal family life; frequently used ironically.
Maybe their pastoral family, with their 2.4 children, is at the perfect age and life stage for that church, and yours does not seem to be (or vice versa).
1993, Carl F. George, How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth, Baker Books, →ISBN2 more examples
In the 1960s and 1970s it was normal to marry and have babies at a young age – girls were routinely leaving school at sixteen, marrying at eighteen and having their 2.4 children before their twenty-third birthday..
2013, Jackie Highe, The Modern Grandparents' Guide, Hachette UK, →ISBNThe heterosexual, monogamous, married for life couple, exclusively committed to the upbringing of their 2.4 children, was the family unit that adoption was legally designed to replicate.
2015, Kerry O'Halloran, The Politics of Adoption: International Perspectives on Law, Policy and Practice, Springer, →ISBN, page 821
Origin
From what was once the average (and therefore supposedly typical) number of children per household in the United Kingdom.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
2.4 children. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/2.4%20children
“2.4 children.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/2.4%20children. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “2.4 children,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/2.4%20children.
Source: 2.4 children on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.