The key to making this a lesser issue when it comes to keeping birth rates high is, in my opinion, a solid foundation of community trust and communal childcare.
The phrase “it takes a village” didn’t just spawn out of nowhere, after all. When communities can share the responsibilities of raising children, not only does it lead to a better quality of life for the kids because they tend to get more social interaction time in and better access to their community’s resources, but it also takes the burden off a lot of parents since it stops being a 24/7 job, and more of a shared, common duty to their community that is only sometimes needed, and is flexible in the case of them needing a break.
Of course, to get something like this, you need to fix the fact that we live in a very low trust society, and that is extremely difficult to do.
People without financial security: “kids are too expensive and I would be exhausted trying to provide for them”
People with financial security: “I’m having a good time, adding a kid to this mix would really require a step back in my lifestyle.”
The second ones are idiots. There’s nothing that can compare to family. No amount of kayaks or hiking or drugs will ever fill that void
The key to making this a lesser issue when it comes to keeping birth rates high is, in my opinion, a solid foundation of community trust and communal childcare.
The phrase “it takes a village” didn’t just spawn out of nowhere, after all. When communities can share the responsibilities of raising children, not only does it lead to a better quality of life for the kids because they tend to get more social interaction time in and better access to their community’s resources, but it also takes the burden off a lot of parents since it stops being a 24/7 job, and more of a shared, common duty to their community that is only sometimes needed, and is flexible in the case of them needing a break.
Of course, to get something like this, you need to fix the fact that we live in a very low trust society, and that is extremely difficult to do.
And yet the people most concerned about birth rates fight the hardest against anything that would make people have more kids
There’s also the moral question of “do I want to add a living person to the world I wish I didn’t exist in?”
If you are person number 2 and thus having good time you probably would want to share the good time
Even if money weren’t an issue for me, I’d be worried my pessimistic outlook on life would crush my potential child’s spirit.
That’s why I think if I’m gonna have a kid some day it will be via adoption.