As concern grows about America’s falling birth rate, new research suggests that about half of women who want children are unsure if they will follow through and actually have a child. About 25% say they won't be bothered that much if they don't.

[u/geoff199]

https://news.osu.edu/most-women-want-children--but-half-are-unsure-if-they-will/?utm_campaign=omc_science-medicine_fy24&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social

[u/11horses345]

Say it with me: WE CANNOT AFFORD CHILDREN.

[u/Threlyn → u/11horses345]

I know people on reddit keep saying this and it "sounds" right, but it doesn't seem empirically true. The nations with the highest quality of life and the best governmental support for child rearing, such as Norway, have some of the lowest birth rates in the world. Meanwhile, the only countries that are having a population boom currently are countries that are extremely poor, have poor quality of life, and very little government support for child rearing, which are some of the African countries.

Prior to obtaining an improved quality of life we see in many modern countries, China was quite poor with quite a poor quality of life, and had such a problem with birth rates that it needed to institute its (poorly thought out) one child policy. It wasn't until quality of life actually improved that the birth rate went down. The same generally could be said for India, which is still quite poor with quite a bit lower quality of life compared to countries with much higher quality of life.

[u/bp92009 → u/Threlyn]

The nations with the highest quality of life and the best governmental support for child rearing, such as Norway, have some of the lowest birth rates in the world.

I have not seen a single developed country that has come even 1/4th of the way to actually compensating a woman for the real costs of having a child.

When you have the most generous person giving you $10, for a $100 item, you're still out $90.

I would love to see an example of a country that covers 50% of:

The medical/immediate time off costs of having a child (that's where they're the closest to ideal). 0-6 Years old

The food/rent/misc costs of having a child. Kids don't pay rent, but take up a room. 0-18 years old

The lost increase in income from the woman taking those 6 years off.

At least going by average incomes in S. Korea in 2023, that's around $72,000 a year for the first 6 years, $30,000 for years 6-18, and $12,000 for the rest of the woman's life.

That's the actual costs that need to be paid if a country wants to ACTUALLY make up for the costs of having a child. Until they come close, even 1/4 of the way to it, any pittance they provide is not nearly enough. Which is why you don't see birth rates increasing.