14 ms·

Plenty of people want kids, but societally across the world in developed nations we don't value doing something about making housing something middle class peop

Plenty of people want kids, but societally across the world in developed nations we don't value doing something about making housing something middle class people can purchase and own.

TulliusCicero 3y ago
That's definitely a factor, absolutely, and something Western countries have been doing absolutely pathetically at. Very much a "we've tried nothing and we're out of ideas" sort of situation. But even if housing was cheaper, it would still be more expensive to have kids than not, if you want the space-per-person metric to stay at least somewhat similar.
- andrewmcwatters 3y ago
  > But even if housing was cheaper, it would still be more expensive to have kids than not, if you want the space-per-person metric to stay at least somewhat similar. Yeah, that's a good point. We have tax credits for families, but they're utterly pathetic.
SvenL 3y ago
I think it’s not just housing. Childcare, pediatrics (medical care for children) and social acceptance could be better. Finding a spot for your child in a kindergarten in a big city is really challenging. Phoning every pharmacy in town to find the prescribed drug for your child (simple things like antibiotics). Leaving work 14:30 because you have to pickup your child from Kindergarten („can’t your wife pick him up“) Being a parent is still great, but sometimes it feels harder than it should be. Note: I live in Germany - might be different somewhere else.
- acdha 3y ago
  I think there’s also a big angle around disruption: parents of young children get sick a LOT more and they’re going to have more unplanned or hard scheduling commitments, which causes a lot of stress for people with jobs. No matter how punctual you were before, willing to stay late to get something done, or simply part of the office social life, that’s all going to be a lot different in ways which people will worry affect their perceived employability.
7e 3y ago
If the fertility + immigration rate is decreasing below replacement, housing will be available due to deaths. Building housing only reduces housing costs for a generation (at most) while increasing pollution, straining infrastructure, and uglifying formerly beautiful places.

Plenty of people want kids, but societally across the world in developed nations we don't value doing something about making housing something middle class people can purchase and own.

TulliusCicero 3y ago

That's definitely a factor, absolutely, and something Western countries have been doing absolutely pathetically at. Very much a "we've tried nothing and we're out of ideas" sort of situation. But even if housing was cheaper, it would still be more expensive to have kids than not, if you want the space-per-person metric to stay at least somewhat similar.

andrewmcwatters 3y ago
> But even if housing was cheaper, it would still be more expensive to have kids than not, if you want the space-per-person metric to stay at least somewhat similar. Yeah, that's a good point. We have tax credits for families, but they're utterly pathetic.

SvenL 3y ago

I think it’s not just housing. Childcare, pediatrics (medical care for children) and social acceptance could be better. Finding a spot for your child in a kindergarten in a big city is really challenging. Phoning every pharmacy in town to find the prescribed drug for your child (simple things like antibiotics). Leaving work 14:30 because you have to pickup your child from Kindergarten („can’t your wife pick him up“) Being a parent is still great, but sometimes it feels harder than it should be. Note: I live in Germany - might be different somewhere else.

acdha 3y ago
I think there’s also a big angle around disruption: parents of young children get sick a LOT more and they’re going to have more unplanned or hard scheduling commitments, which causes a lot of stress for people with jobs. No matter how punctual you were before, willing to stay late to get something done, or simply part of the office social life, that’s all going to be a lot different in ways which people will worry affect their perceived employability.

7e 3y ago

If the fertility + immigration rate is decreasing below replacement, housing will be available due to deaths. Building housing only reduces housing costs for a generation (at most) while increasing pollution, straining infrastructure, and uglifying formerly beautiful places.