Not wanting to be poor, or more likely, trading the yearly trip to $insertPlaceHere, eating out on the weekends, or the daily Starbucks, for a new kid, isn't a bad, but 'too expensive' doesn't really describe that situation accurately.
Agreed, a lot of Nordic countries provide more support to families with children yet they have very similar numbers to countries with worse support. The monetary aspect obviously plays a factor but it cannot explain everything. If you want to change the trend you will have to look at other additional factors as well. Not all factors have the same weight but they all feed into the same trend.
The different narratives around "why would you bring children into this horrible world?" also have an effect. It does not matter that they live better lives than people did in the 13th century. Their reality tunnel will latch onto anything negative to justify why they cannot have kids until things get better. And because they always focus on the negative they will never notice if things improved at all. Things will always look too bleak for them.
It sadly also remains a reality that if a woman gets kids her career will take a hit. This pushes women who care about their careers to delay having children sometimes too long.
The economical factor has easier answers I guess than the other more intangible aspects.
You need space for kids, meaning your 1 bed apartment isn’t gonna cut it. Look at the cost of housing these days.
You will need to pay for childcare. This could easily be $1000 per month for the first 5 years.
Transportation. You may need to get a larger vehicle. Plus food, clothing, healthcare.
Oh and then there’s tuition costs.
To summarize, this country has done approximately nothing to make childcare more accessible lately and is wondering why kids don’t magically appear.
> There are plenty of poor countries having children
You’ve hit the nail on the head. In an advanced economy, making a worker costs more. We have offloaded this cost onto parents, and wonder why parents aren’t doing it as much.
Like having kids and making sure they are able to survive adulthood come with two separate sticker prices. And if you’re not going to do the second, might as well not do the first.
Does having children impact their earning potential? The US offers a relatively high earning potential, and having children really directly interferes with that. If you don't have high earning potential, having kids may not have an appreciable impact.
Childcare alone can easily cost over $1k/mo. Daily Starbucks and eating out is nothing compared to having kids.
it certainly did in my case. Holding a newborn and realizing an actual life depends on you is good motivation to do what it takes to get better as a whole, earn more, and climb the ladder. It wasn't easy but i'm in a much better financial position with kids than i would be without. I know myself pretty well and i'm sure i'd be in the same apartment doing the same thing day after day year after year like my childless friends. No knock on them but i've grown my income way more than they have and I credit family obligations for forcing my hand.
I won't have kids if I cannot pay for their post-secondary education. That is clearly not a requirement in poorer countries.
If the cost of having and raising a kid was equal to one Starbucks drink a day we wouldn't have this problem. What we have right now in the US is record amounts of household debt (hint: it's not because people have been going on "yearly trip to $insertPlaceHere" and charging it to their VISA), record number of utility shutoffs due to non-pay, record numbers of people who can't afford rent, and skyrocketing child poverty rates.
'too expensive' seems to sum up the situation pretty damn well
Actually, worldwide population trends suggest that childbirth rates are dropping across the board. Poverty does have a direct correlation with how many kids you have because access to healthcare, education and financial stability all contribute to you having fewer kids. But as globally those things change for the better, child birth rates will continue to drop.
If someone was trying to get me to buy a boat I'd tell them I can't afford it. It's a shortcut to, Why would I spend money on something for "the economy"