The above shows the boom started in the 40s in the U.S. after 140 years of gradual decline.
I think his explanation fits the thesis of his recent book, which I actually like, but it seem a bit off here.
It is definitely something that you need to think about if you will have kids later in life (in addition to mother safety).
But even starting in your 30s gives you a big disadvantage, toddlers are fast (the fastest land mammal is a toddler who’s just been asked what he has in his mouth!).
The #1 thing I would tell any young person who would listen is that if you want them, finish having children by like 27. I know for most people, that represents a gamble (that you’ll be able to achieve financial stability in the future), but it’s a safer bet than betting that ‘future you’ will be better equipped in all of the non-money ways. Spoiler: older you is worse equipped in most ways. You might have more wisdom to impart, but the children won’t listen to you anyway so that’s moot.
Unless one is from a wealthy family, following this advice basically means to give up a career.
Being a mom without a career is being insecure, it could end up in abusive relationship.
Also, I know women who work in tech who did that advice and are fine. They make high enough salaries to afford good daycare (or it is provided onsite).
I read that people were copulating in the streets of London the day of the Armistice.
Tell me you don't have kids without telling me you don't have kids.
From an "efficiency" perspective, one can already eliminate 90% of the work of childcare by putting your kid in a sturdy playpen with a secure hard top and wearing noise canceling headphones. People don't really want to do this, for the most part.
The interactive learning is the entire point of childcare. Having machines raise your kids will make it so you end up with kids that were raised by machines. Is that what you want? It seems like this is basically already a thing, with the varying amounts of screen time that parents will allow kids.
Women already don't want to be mothers--and everybody has pushed so hard that being a housewife is bad!--so what's the issue here?
I, for one, would bet my firstborn that a solution to the demographic question such that fulfills modern sensibilities is to ever be found.
We could just kill ourselves, since we don't seem to care much for life, reproduction, and all that.
In this new imbalanced society, a TFR well below 2 will still allow a stable, or even growing, population.