So many old men in power are complaining about population decline. But do any of them stop and ask: Why are women having less children than they used to? In the past children were an economic asset, a source of labour. From a young age they could be put to work assisting with simple household tasks. Before mandatory secondary education, a teenager could be put to work full-time on a farm doing almost the same work as the adults. A child was an extra pair of hands to generate economic output for the household. During the industrial revolution children were working in factories, they were being paid less than adults, but still generated income.
Today a child is an extra mouth to feed. Laws and customs have changed a great deal. Child labour is illegal, leaving pre-pubescent (and in some countries maybe even teenage) children home alone is illegal in most civilized countries. Children are expensive, (I would even say a luxury, but I have very high expectations for standards of living). Education costs money, gadgets and activities cost money, a bigger house with an additional bedroom for the child costs money. Childcare (in north America) costs an arm and a leg and an airplane on top. Giving birth is one of the most expensive (non-life-saving) medical services if you live in a country without universal healthcare. Life in general and children in particular have gotten more expensive. Unless you are blessed to live in a country that subsidizes childcare or have generational wealth: having a child means losing one household income for a few years while one parent (almost always the mother) stays home to take care of the child until she is old enough to go to school. Most nurseries do not cover a standard working day (in the country that I live in now they work only till about 2 pm), so returning to 2 full-time incomes will take a few years. Child-rearing standards have gone up significantly, it is the norm to for children to attend sports, after school activities â again time and money. You cannot put children to work, you cannot leave them home alone all day while you go to work (at least until pre-teen years)
I am not saying it is a bad thing that children today are living much better lives and are not dying from malnutrition or being sucked into factory machinery. The economic reality of parenthood has changed. Children once used to be an economic asset are now a liability.
Do I love children? Yes? Do I have any? No. Because I cannot provide them the quality of life they deserve since as a single working adult I have neither the time or the money for this luxurious liabilit y.
Putting aside the emotional aspect â our children are precious, and wonderful and amazing, Yes, in 20 years if they grow up to be successful, they can be considered an investment but that is far from certain. So many 20-30 year-olds are now living with their parents due to high costs of living (or maybe they are lazy? The result is the same though). Children require an enormous investment of resources even to have a basic standard of living which is why less and less people who want them are able to afford them.
Considering human population from a simple headcount perspective in the same way a farmer views his cattle is no longer in vogue. Simply whining about birth rates does nothing to achieve the desired result.