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> life without kids is seen as undesirable relative to a life with kids This is a hard one to solve. Some modern westerners see child free life as good and fil

> life without kids is seen as undesirable relative to a life with kids This is a hard one to solve. Some modern westerners see child free life as good and fill their lives with other time sinks that children would otherwise fill. But I don't think you can lay the child free lifestyle blame all at the costs of having children. Poor people, religious groups (Mormons, Muslims, etc.), and immigrants who come to western countries all seem to have no problems having children. Even the Koreans mentioned in the article have huge families when moving overseas.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
It is not exactly the nominal costs of having children, but the whole package. For example, now that it is completely within a couple's control to have or not have children the decision to have children might go like 1) will we be secure in our housing, at a certain minimum sq ft per person? 2) will we be secure in our access to healthcare (I guess this is a US concern)? 3) will we be living in an acceptable neighborhood with access to acceptable schools? 4) will we be living in an region experiencing economic growth, or at least not economic decline, so as to reduce the probability of becoming destitute due to job loss, etc? 5) will we have friends/family nearby to help with children in case of emergencies (a problem for many who move away from economically declining areas to economically growing areas)? All of these are not a concern if you choose to not have children. At least you will be able to spend a coupe hours watching TV or browsing on your phone, but you will not be stressed out trying to make ends meet while also trying to meet the expected quality of life you want for your children. >Poor people, religious groups (Mormons, Muslims, etc.), and immigrants who come to western countries all seem to have no problems having children. There are a few tribes that have women who do not believe in (or have access to) birth control or do not worry as much about the future, or they have different expectations of quality of life for their kids. But outside these specific examples, my armchair analysis seems to indicate that most women with independence start thinking about various tradeoffs in life, which can make having children (or as many children) seem not worth it. >Even the Koreans mentioned in the article have huge families when moving overseas. I do not see this mentioned in the article.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

It is not exactly the nominal costs of having children, but the whole package. For example, now that it is completely within a couple's control to have or not have children the decision to have children might go like 1) will we be secure in our housing, at a certain minimum sq ft per person? 2) will we be secure in our access to healthcare (I guess this is a US concern)? 3) will we be living in an acceptable neighborhood with access to acceptable schools? 4) will we be living in an region experiencing economic growth, or at least not economic decline, so as to reduce the probability of becoming destitute due to job loss, etc? 5) will we have friends/family nearby to help with children in case of emergencies (a problem for many who move away from economically declining areas to economically growing areas)? All of these are not a concern if you choose to not have children. At least you will be able to spend a coupe hours watching TV or browsing on your phone, but you will not be stressed out trying to make ends meet while also trying to meet the expected quality of life you want for your children. >Poor people, religious groups (Mormons, Muslims, etc.), and immigrants who come to western countries all seem to have no problems having children. There are a few tribes that have women who do not believe in (or have access to) birth control or do not worry as much about the future, or they have different expectations of quality of life for their kids. But outside these specific examples, my armchair analysis seems to indicate that most women with independence start thinking about various tradeoffs in life, which can make having children (or as many children) seem not worth it. >Even the Koreans mentioned in the article have huge families when moving overseas. I do not see this mentioned in the article.