It’s becoming unfashionable to have kids

[Housebuyingfamily]

Birth rates are on the floor which people frame as, people would have more kids were it not for the cost of them or climate change, etc etc. But I feel like it’s now more than this. As if we have a global child-free culture that’s growing every day and it’s becoming increasingly “unfashionable” to have kids, even looked down upon.

It's a graceful marbled atrium (uncluttered by buggies, scooters, skateboards), full of luxuriant plants (which no one has yanked out), where you can sip tea or coffee (which hasn't gone cold) from fine china (unbroken), savour delicacies from around the world (instead of leftover baby puree on a half-eaten rice cake), chased by a cocktail or spirit, or two (because you can) from delicate glassware (not a plastic sippy cup in sight). Your every whim is immediately catered to, and any mess is whisked away and fixed (by other people!). You can enjoy adult conversation (uninterrupted), and the music of your choice (no Teletubbies or Blue's Clues or Dora Exploring on perpetual loop). You can watch a movie straight through to the end (instead of intermittent 5 minute snatches) and get lost in any book, in all the books (without learning the same 20 pages by heart, with voices). There is not a single piece of lego underfoot.

Abso-bloody-lutely and I say that as a mother.

I was explaining to the other poster that it is a fact that the birth rate has fallen. I didn't comment on the pros and cons.

Can't remember the last time I went to a music concert. How bizarre that you think that's what people with no children prioritise.

I do hate to break it to you but we work, pay bills, do housework, shop...you know all those annoying little things we all have to do as adults.

👏👏👏👏

Total rubbish. Woman is still more or less synonymous with mother for most people.

I have 3 children and nursery is £6k per month. Having ‘one more’ ended up being twins.

The Economist ran an article about the reason for falling birth rate across developed countries.

It is mostly due to teenagers having fewer babies. Women, if they have babies, are having them later in life and hence popping out fewer. Financial incentives by governments (e.g. South Korea where it is very generous) barely move the dial on increasing the birth rate.

Once a country is in the grip of a death spiral of lower and lower birth rates, it is difficult to climb out of it without immigration which brings its own societal problems.

Accept the reality of an aging population. Use robots 😁.

Don’t forget you were a child once too.

Just having read the comments about China and Japan, there was once a link on here to a lady from South Korea, who explained why women weren't having children there despite cash incentives.
Basically there was NO consideration given to the fact that pregnancy takes a huge toll on the body and that there needs to be recovery time for that and time spent with the baby, there was no acknowlegement of any pain resulting from pregnancy/birth and it was all about how the woman was expected to get straight back to work, be on top of her game and on a level with men who haven't had to go through any of that and most probably aren't even parents anyway.
I remember thinking it was no wonder the incentive hadn't worked. The lady in question decided not to have any children and went off to be a waitress in New Zealand. Don't blame her either!

I have no children, BUT on an individual country level there IS a need for young people to be paying taxes when we're all retired and to be working in care homes when we're all hanging on. At the moment, this is being partly covered by migration, but migrants to the west also end up having fewer children within a couple of generations.

Whar indeed is this Nirvana you speak of.

@Housebuyingfamily possibly a city thing, although I do know the 4th feminism or 4 wave (somebody, anybody help me out on this), started as women are fed up of the constant fuckery they were experiencing from our male counterparts, so have opted out too for this reason.

In my circle there is probably a fairly even balance between us with children and without, we are not young, nor are we ancient. The offspring range in age from nursery to university.

It's a good thing.

Having children shouldn’t be something that people just do because it’s expected. It should be something done only if that’s what two people really want after a lot of thought.

I’m glad I had my DC but there’s absolutely some circumstances where I wouldn’t have had any. Such as if I had to give up my career.

I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to the days where women had very little choice but to bear children and that’s it, that was their life.

These babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers turn out to be lovely young adults. You catch your breath when one of them (your own flesh and blood) breezes into the room bringing with them the energy and dreams of youth and promise of the future.

It is not all poop, vomit and lego underfoot. That is only a brief moment in time.

@Charlie2121 Yes, this is fairly common now. My parents were unusual for their era in that they had one child in their late 30’s. Tbh, it has pros and cons from the child’s perspective, although I can totally understand why parents do it!

But unfortunately the world's population is still going up.

Not all of them turn out to be lovely young adults.

@Scentedjasmin Because far fewer children die before the age of five and adults live far longer. We ain’t dying off quick enough!

There is very much a 'children are a lifestyle choice' and ' you should only have children if you can afford them' vibe these days.

This takes away from the fact children are necessary for society to function in the future. Helping young people with children now helps the whole of society later.

Birth rates have dropped significantly but I don’t think it’s about fashions. It’s rightfully more acceptable to not have dc & life is expensive so some can’t afford them.

But unfortunately the world's population is still going up

Not because of kids but because people are living longer….

Money

So what, though? The planet’s fucked. We do not need to be over-populating it.

Are you suggesting we kill off people?!

Here you are, making statements about those that do decide to have children. Easy after being born and becoming adult, isn’t it? Someone had to wipe your bum, teach you to walk, talk, soothe fussy crying. This is beneath you though, a position to scorn at, judge and laugh.

We probably don't need to go that far...but the human race is constantly looking for a cure for death.