‘Declining birth rates are the norm.’ Louise Perry on modernity and declining #birthrate #motherhood

[davidhull]

most people spend all their time working just to make ends meet.

[lumden]

Women HAVE to work, so paying someone else to look after their children is not the answer. Having 3or 4 children and having someone else bring them up …. Why bother having a child? If you stay home to bring them up you’ll live in poverty, not the answer either.

[hareecionelson]

As someone who went to medical school, if I was female no way I'm having kids.

Not surprised more women are saying 'yeah, no' to raising families.

[janegardener]

Children require 24/7 care for many years. It's very difficult to juggle a job and care for children.

[carrie]

The population needs to decline, the planet is struggling to cope with what we've bred todate, we can't just keep increasing the human race, the resources on this planet are not inexhaustible.

[melanietipton]

We can't afford to have children and feed and house ourselves. I don't understand why that is not a good enough answer.

[blueband]

So what, who cares. One minute those in charge are moaning about the impact on the environment, next that they haven't got enough worker drones.

[simianinc]

Demographer Peter Zeihan explained it simply. For agrarian societies, children are free labour. For urbal societies, children are a cost

[IansUToob]

We have frickin over 8, 000, 000, 000 people on a planet that can barely support half that. Not a problem!!!!

[ralfphelps]

Feminism isn't to blame- it's simply saying that women or men can work if they want to and that both choices are valid. However atm both men and women in a relationship have to work full time just to support themselves due to draconian right wing economic policies so they can't afford to have kids or have more than one or 2 kids

[thebigreveale]

She said so much and yet so little! The biggest factor in declining birthrates is education and access to contraception combined with lower childhood mortality.

[kris]

I am a mother. I got one child and it has cost me my promotion at work. I will earn less money till the end of my career. If you ask me "was it worth it" I will say that it was. Next child however would most probably cost me my job and this is not something I would be willing to sacrifice

[andysmith]

Why do people not debate why house prices and rents are so high? We live in a market economy so we have to ask why?

[neilwavg]

Most people can't be bothered to have children, get a cat and have lots of holidays.

[hazelnut]

Yes prices are a factor but also large families are the norm where child mortality is high, With no guarantee they’ll all survive to adult hood.

[Bibirallie]

The assumption here is that high cost of living is only limited to big cities, but that is not the case. It’s also the cost of raising children has increased while wages stay stagnant. if we are including the cost of children in modernity, then yes.

[WatanabeNoTsuna.]

It's also a product of better child survivability. Back in Victorian times, people had 5 to 10 children because they know at least half of them would die before reaching 5 years old.

[jackiechan]

Gee, the proletariat don't want kids no more... Wonder why?

[hwway]

Someone should do a wages, cost of living (“house prices”) vs birth rate “all over the world” sample study before she bases her opinion on this not-yet-existent study

[aislingnid]

Most commonly I hear there are no suitable male partners to have children with. It's a big responsibility (regardless of what happens with the relationship). I'm glad women are being discerning in their life choices.