Y'know, I'm usually a believer in the genetic component of human behaviour, but I don't think there's much genetics involved here. Fertility rates have been dro

Y'know, I'm usually a believer in the genetic component of human behaviour, but I don't think there's much genetics involved here. Fertility rates have been dropping all over the civilized world. Reasons: 1. Women are pursuing education and careers, which means they're often already thirty before they're "ready" to have children -- leaving no time to pump out more than one or two 2. Children are getting more expensive, both in terms of the absolutely compulsory costs and the things you're just expected to buy for them 3. For people who expect to get around by car, more than three children is a nightmare. In fact, with all the modern safety regulations having more than two children is a nightmare. My parents were happy to cart around three young children in the back of an early 80s Mazda 323, but you couldn't do that any more because a minimal child seat would take up nearly the whole back seat 4. There's really no incentive to have more than two children any more. Child mortality is nearly zero, and it's no longer expected that children will support their parents in their old age.