4 ms·

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993.

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993. [1] That year, fertility was at 1.28 kids per woman. Since then, it has increased to 1.62. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/germany/fertility-rate https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/ger...

fnands 6mo ago
Could be as if you live in a city in Germany you don't necessarily need a car? But I would be surprised if car seats are the main driver here in any case.
- brailsafe 6mo ago
  Certainly not as much as the U.S or Canada, but not as little as Tokyo or Netherlands. I found various cities easy to navigate without one, but they seemed oddly car-centric as well. Berlin is very car and very public transportation somehow
  - bombcar 6mo ago
    Public transit and kid/stroller public transit are very different beasts. Once you’ve had to lift a stroller into a “high” bus you’ll not want to do it anymore.
    - brailsafe 6mo ago
      > Once you’ve had to lift a stroller into a “high” bus you’ll not want to do it anymore. I imagine I'd agree, but is that related? You might have more niche knowledge that I'm not aware of in this context. In my city in Canada, all buses lower upon request
deleted 6mo ago
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rayiner 6mo ago
You can’t compare those numbers because the population in 1993 and today comprises different groups who are materially different in terms of fertility rate. Last year, the fertility rate for women with German citizenship was 1.23. The other major change is that in 1990, you had a reunification of east and west germany. Fertility rates in East Germany were low before reunification and collapsed right after reunification. But they recovered from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. So the 1993 aggregate average is artificially low. In neighboring France, the fertility rate in 1993 was 1.7.
nslsm 6mo ago
Those who have children can’t afford a car.

fnands 6mo ago

Could be as if you live in a city in Germany you don't necessarily need a car? But I would be surprised if car seats are the main driver here in any case.

brailsafe 6mo ago
Certainly not as much as the U.S or Canada, but not as little as Tokyo or Netherlands. I found various cities easy to navigate without one, but they seemed oddly car-centric as well. Berlin is very car and very public transportation somehow
- bombcar 6mo ago
  Public transit and kid/stroller public transit are very different beasts. Once you’ve had to lift a stroller into a “high” bus you’ll not want to do it anymore.
  - brailsafe 6mo ago
    > Once you’ve had to lift a stroller into a “high” bus you’ll not want to do it anymore. I imagine I'd agree, but is that related? You might have more niche knowledge that I'm not aware of in this context. In my city in Canada, all buses lower upon request

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

rayiner 6mo ago

You can’t compare those numbers because the population in 1993 and today comprises different groups who are materially different in terms of fertility rate. Last year, the fertility rate for women with German citizenship was 1.23. The other major change is that in 1990, you had a reunification of east and west germany. Fertility rates in East Germany were low before reunification and collapsed right after reunification. But they recovered from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. So the 1993 aggregate average is artificially low. In neighboring France, the fertility rate in 1993 was 1.7.

nslsm 6mo ago

Those who have children can’t afford a car.