UK fertility rate drops by 18.8% in 12 years

Interesting. I wonder why it’s low for the yellow countries

Pregnancy is hard on your body. Kids cost a fortune. Schools are worse than ever and everything is more expensive. Why would I want to have a child?

Families will feel poorer from now on, says IMF boss

I don't think fertility rates will go anywhere but further down.

Personally I enjoyed parenting - even the lean hard years - but know not everyone does and frankly since we've had our it's got nothing but harder financially.

@Pusheen467 Hang in there, it does get easier. Their childhood honestly does go by quickly and before you know it, they’re a young adult like my DD (19). I worry far less now as she’s at university getting on with her life and doing all sorts of exciting things.

I don't find it rewarding. I love my DD and I'd die for her but parenting is just an endless list of extra chores and worrying about another person.

I know you were replying to them. You quoted the post. You still used the general "you" instead of "I."

HNRTT but in addition to the housing costs and as part of the cost of living, the financial impact of student loans and the lifestyle timeline impact of higher education and the arm's race of higher degrees leading to the delayed start of careers. Career instability and short term contracts in many professions will not help.

I was replying to the previous poster who said “Let's be honest why would anyone have kids now? I think it's positive woman are waking up to the motherhood myth.” I was explaining why women choose to become mothers as the poster was suggesting it was irrational.

Can't find a detailed one like England and Wales

https://landgeist.com/2022/02/18/fertility-rate-in-europe/

Best I could find was this for whole of Europe with some variation in Scotland from 2022.

It's one of the most rewarding things YOU have done in life. For others it's their worst mistake or worst nightmare.

V. interesting. Is there a Scottish map?

Because it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do in life. Relationships are a source of great happiness for humans and the bond between mother and child is one of the strongest you can experience (not everyone obviously).

I don’t regret becoming a mother and it’s not been that difficult for me as a full time working mum. The only thing stopping me having more is money as I want my kids to have their own bedroom and I can’t afford to buy a bigger house.

I did not have a maternal urge until my kids were born … in fact it took a while to develop after the birth

Let's be honest why would anyone have kids now? I think it's positive woman are waking up to the motherhood myth. After doing 90% of parenting alone during covid there is no amount of money or incentive that will make me have another one.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-17/australia-birth-rate-hits-rock-bottom-economic-consequences/104480816?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf275083821&utm_campaign=tw_abc_news&utm_source=t.co&sf275083821=1

I'm also in a dark blue area which explains a lot, as my (white British) colleagues all have at least 3 (two have 4 and 5 respectively) and my older friends who became mums all had 3, with one exception. I had a suspicion that my location is an exception and so it is.

Yep Dark bit mean higher birth rate.

I'm in the only dark bit for a huge region and house prices are rapidly rising with high employment areas nearby. It's a nice bit of a deprived area though city is frequently slated on here.

I think the population mix is slowly changing as young locals get slowly priced out and families like us move here and work in nearby cities we can't afford to buy in. At some point I can't help but feel all the cheap accessible areas will be gone.

If the darker bits mean a higher birth rate then my area is one of those. I am not surprised. It is quite deprived.

THIS 100%
You'd be shocked at the amount of grown men that spend all their spare time playing video games and smoking pot.
Plus the sheer price of rent at the moment. Go have a look at the average price of a three bed family home 😬 madness I suppose if you wanted a bigger family you could just buy a two bed flat and hope they're all the same gender lol.

I'm in an area that has the lowest birthrate and schools are closing as a result so it is certainly not uniform as you point out. My Dad is in his late 70s and tells me that out of his friends mainly from the London area he is the only grandparent to 5 children (includes my siblings DC) and there is only 1 other friend out of 6 that has one grandchild.

I’m one of three siblings. One of us is child free by choice, me and other sibling have one child each. In my case, we could have afforded more than one but I hated being pregnant, had a bloody awful birth and piss poor post natal care. Put me off ever having another. I have a feeling DS won’t have children, he’s already said as much but is only 23 so might change his mind I guess.

In terms of having someone to look after me when I get old, I’m perfectly happy to shuffle off this mortal coil when I can no longer do the things I enjoy. Absolutely no desire to be stuck in a chair for 18 hours a day with someone getting me up and putting me to bed. My man was 96 when she died and spent the last 16 years indoors with carers four times a day. Not for me thanks.

Not sure if map is copying

It's not uniform. World wide it's linked to urbanisation trends. England and Wales certainly ins't uniform.

From here
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13118755/Fertility-rate-plunges-time-low.html.

Scale not copied - but it goes from 0.68 -1.22 light green 1.22 -1.44 green, 1.58-1.73 light blue, 1.73 - 1.98 being top dark blue area.

I'm a Mother so my intellectual feats only include pushing shapes into a shape sorter and stacking wooden blocks!

It doesn't take a 'Top Genius' to understand the point of an article and disagree. However, IMO it is a bit lazy to link articles, not paraphrase them and pass them off as your own opinion.

That's almost 6 years ago, pre much of the international conflict being conducted today. That said, there are many papers that put the counter argument to yours, that evidence how older leaders are more likely to engage in military conflict than younger ones.