US birth rates fall for the 6th consecutive year

[sohi 23]

It’s too expensive honestly. People can’t even afford houses. How can you afford a kid?

I’m not bringing any kid into poverty. Need to be financially stable and cop a crib before I consider it.

 

[TURBO UNO]

I’m not bringing any kid into poverty.

This right here. Why put another human being through that when most of us know that struggle.

 

[wayniac211]

Lol so we should take it back to the days of raping and pillaging?

So many suspect dudes on this forum. Lmao.

Thats not even "Feminism" that's basic human decency and respect.

**** u talking bout dude.. it is a woman’s right on what she wants to do. Foh

 

[fluid hips]

Honestly, financial freedom is more important to me than kids at this stage in my life. I'm sure I'll want kids eventually.

The trick is finding the right woman that is like minded. Not trying to get trapped

 

[jape]

glad to see the sound financial reasoning from everyone in regards to having a child. Money is def a factor. also, people aren’t having as many kids like before. 3 used to be normal growing up. Now none of my peers want no more than 2 at the most.

also, i believe I read that testosterone levels have been on the decline.

 

[blastercombo]

Let’s also not forget that this is the generation of grown kids walking around as adults. More and more people in their 20s and 30s still act like they are 15. Living and embracing that “broke” life.

 

[Deleted member 42060]

What some people spend on their pets though. you might as well get a kid with that money.

I also think some people aren't fit for raising kids. Easy to neglect children and all that parenting stuff. It hurts to see some kids suffer in this world.

 

[sneakaprince]

I had a kid at 29 (unplanned) but I love him. I didn't want any kids until my 30s because I wanted to be as financially ready as possible.

Despite things not going to plan it's all worked out. I had to grind my *** off still but we live an extremely comfortable life (especially when comparing to how I came up).

My fiance and I have wanted another kid for a while but we both weren't taking any chances. My son is now 4 and we both regret the age gap that our 1st and second kid are bound to have. However, we are just now getting to place where it's reasonable for us to talk more kids.

After we get married next year I'm shooting the club up with a vengeance. Really looking forward to having one more kid but this will certainly be our last.

Daycare is no joke. Even at 4 years old I'm paying nearly 1k a month. I couldn't imagine how much having to do that for 2 kids would've set us back these last couple years.

 

[cosmiccoffee9]

I think there's something to this latest generation (>35) seeing how their parents struggled and wanting no parts of that ****.

from jobs to relationships to kids, cost-benefit analysis is the wave.

 

[sneakaprince]

Personally my mom didn't start having kids til she was 32. I grew up with "older parents" and she struggled but mostly because she was raising 2 kids solo.

I never felt like we struggled because mom had to pick between providing for us and wanting to experience her own life. If anything by the time we were coming up mom was really honing in on her career and just could've used a solid partner to help her with the kids.

I knew I would have kids later in life (until my son popped up, lol) because I wanted to give my kids my all. I truly feel like I'm just hitting my stride when it comes to my career etc and I didn't wanna have to figure all that **** out at 25.

 

[deusavertat]

**** u talking bout dude.. it is a woman’s right on what she wants to do. Foh

Your statement didn't come out that way. Blaming "feminism" and women having a choice of who to have sex with for the decline in children the past 6 years is problematic. We have declined so far as a society that women asking for consent is considered "feminism".

But feel free to change your tone. I already got receipts.


"Feminism.. . If she don’t want the D or the baby, it’s her choice"-wayniac211 reasoning for decline in birth rates the last 6 years

bolded and underlined for emphasis.

 

[deusavertat]

A part of why I want daughters is I heard they are more likely to care for their parents in old age. I gotta make this sh@# worth it.

Otherwise my wife and I might as well save all that money and live in some Villa on an Island with a maid.

 

[WASHED KING]

The United States has been below replacement level (we're not creating enough new people to replace our current population) for a long time. Some of the good that's come from this is that team pregnancy is headed to lowest rate in decades.

For a long time my hypothesis was that people weren't having kids because many Americans don't have health care and many jobs have poor parental leave but even in European countries with nationalized health care they're seeing declining birth rates as well.

Seems to me that it's a combination of:

1. Better availability of contraception

2. Women investing in their careers and waiting longer to have kids (or not having kids at all)

3. Most Americans no longer live in agrarian communities where they might need extra help (in the form of children). Having lots of kids went from an asset to a liability from a financial standpoint.

4. A lot of millennials barely have enough money to take care of themselves, much less of family.

5. Some millennials have the feeling of existential dread. "Why would I bring a child into this crazy, crumbling world?!" thought process.

Do you guys view this as a problem? If so, how do we fix it?

Put more money into education. Forgive student loans, better mortgage rates, and rent control.

 

[atlsfinest]

A part of why I want daughters is I heard they are more likely to care for their parents in old age. I gotta make this sh@# worth it.

Otherwise my wife and I might as well save all that money and live in some Villa on an Island with a maid.

I feel you, most men don't have that caretaking instinct. The rationale of having kids because they'll take care of you when you're older is ridiculous though ("who's going to be there for you when you're old?!). You know how many older people live in old folks homes and their kids never visit them?

You definitely shouldn't assume that your kids will take care of you when you're older.

 

[deusavertat]

I feel you, most men don't have that caretaking instinct. The rationale of having kids because they'll take care of you when you're older is ridiculous though ("who's going to be there for you when you're old?!). You know how many older people live in old folks homes and their kids never visit them?

You definitely shouldn't assume that your kids will take care of you when you're older.

It is a ridiculous burden to put on them but I think it's a cultural thing. There is an expectation in many cultures that you care for your parents in old age. I don't necessarily agree with that because they didn't ask to be born. But I'm hoping at least one of my children has it in their hearts to help out.

Some of these old folks homes are nice though and lit. They be having sex orgies n ****

 

[olemisscrh]

I've read some articles that suggest, humans are less fertile now than their grandparents were at the same age. Also male children are being conceived less now than previous years.

makes sense with the increase in processed foods and waves we are inundated with daily

 

[blastercombo]

Put more money into education. Forgive student loans, better mortgage rates, and rent control.

Add in healthcare for all.

American economy is built with the infrastructure of a Vegas hotel. Distract you with shiny lights and cheap food all while you actually lose money over time and end up an alcoholic. But......”didn’t you have fun”??

 

[WASHED KING]

Add in healthcare for all.

American economy is built with the infrastructure of a Vegas hotel. Distract you with shiny lights and cheap food all while you actually lose money over time and end up an alcoholic. But......”didn’t you have fun”??

Trickle down economics never worked, and they never will.

 

[deusavertat]

Trickle down economics never worked, and they never will.

Biggest myth in human history right up there with the judeochristian God and Santa.

 

[blastercombo]

Trickle down economics never worked, and they never will.

The fact that it gained any type of respect is confusing to say the least. We just hope the rich want to hand money out? Lol. The “but they make the jobs” argument doesn’t even work because time and time again these companies are exposed for paying their workers trash. Add to that the fact that they pay near ZERO in taxes.

this all came from old white men claiming nobody else would “understand” or “know what to do with this”.

 

[WASHED KING]

The fact that it gained any type of respect is confusing to say the least. We just hope the rich want to hand money out? Lol. The “but they make the jobs” argument doesn’t even work because time and time again these companies are exposed for paying their workers trash. Add to that the fact that they pay near ZERO in taxes.

Stockholm Syndrome the 1% put on the rest of the population and they ate it up.

 

[Deleted member 42060]

There's also a caveat with women's reproductive systems. Men may be able to have kids at older ages, but women are more fertile in their 20s, and the fertility drops after 35. It's no wonder thats a recipe for low birth rates. And the technology to preserve eggs and all that costs, yep money.

 

[atlsfinest]

Put more money into education. Forgive student loans, better mortgage rates, and rent control.

Add in healthcare for all.

American economy is built with the infrastructure of a Vegas hotel. Distract you with shiny lights and cheap food all while you actually lose money over time and end up an alcoholic. But......”didn’t you have fun”??

I agree that better and cheaper access to healthcare as well as more robust social programs would help our society as a whole but there's not really much evidence that it would help birth rates.

Countries throughout Europe like Italy, Norway, Iceland, etc have much better social programs but their birth rates are just as bad, if not lower, than the United States.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Some of these old folks homes are nice though and lit. They be having sex orgies n ****

As opposed to what other types of orgies? (Naan bread / Cod fish ahat B Sox )



But yea A atlanta_girl2021 atlsfinest , The, "I want to make sure someone is here to take care of me" rationale gets used often.

I also wonder how this generation feels about Legacy compared to previous generations. I know men of yesteryear cared a LOT about carrying on their legacy but do people give a damn as mucb now? (Question for all.)

 

[atlsfinest]

As opposed to what other types of orgies? (Naan bread / Cod fish ahat B Sox )



But yea A atlanta_girl2021 atlsfinest , The, "I want to make sure someone is here to take care of me" rationale gets used often.

I also wonder how this generation feels about Legacy compared to previous generations. I know men of yesteryear cared a LOT about carrying on their legacy but do people give a damn as mucb now? (Question for all.)

I think it comes down to the basic hierarchy of needs. Being able to worry about abstract concepts like "legacy" is a luxury for the wealthy and established. Most millennials barely have enough money to take care of themselves, much less a family, much less concerned about legacy and carrying on the family name.



In my opinion, the single biggest issue is access to wealth.

Access to money/wealth means better access to healthcare. It means you don't have to worry as much about child care related costs because your financially secure.

Also, having more money changes your outlook on life. So many millennials have a negative view on life because not only do they not have money now, they don't see a route to them getting lots of money or getting out of debt. If you don't see your life getting better, why would you bring another (expensive and time consuming) person into this world?