Politik allein wird Kanadas Fruchtbarkeitskrise nicht lösen. Wir brauchen einen Kulturwandel

I know many here will say they can’t afford a family and that’s why they aren’t having one, but honestly, I personally don’t want any kids for other non-economic reasons as well (although economic reasons are a large contributer to my choice). [31% of Canadians under 45 who do not have children probably or definitely will not have kids.](https://cdnsurveystuff.substack.com/p/who-wants-to-have-children)

Not only are the financial costs of children way too high, the non-monetary opportunity costs of having them are also very high. They are extremely time intensive. I can’t imagine coming home from work and instead of being able to relax, I have to take care of kids for the rest of the night. I also can’t travel as much, be away for long without them, ect. Just the thought of having a kids stresses me out.

I think many (maybe even most) would have kids if it was economically viable, but there are a lot of substitution effects at play in the modern developed world which make kids not an optimal choice for many. That is to say, children are increasingly competing with alternative uses of time and income.

It’s not a financial thing. The poorest cohorts have the most children, the richest the least. It turns out when you give people education and purpose beyond procreation a substantial portion of the population are happy to remain childless. It’s part of why the political right has such horrifying prescriptions for the problem, typically involving hauling women’s rights back decades if not centuries. Take away their rights and prospects and education and make procreation their only possible path in life and poof…you’ve „solved the birth rate problem“.

Author is largely correct. More government subsidies, paid time off or even affordable housing do not create a desire for children. At best, government help or lower cost of living can be a hand up to folks who are already stably partnered and want to start having kids. But if Canadians aren’t interested in becoming parents, or they dont have a partner to have kids with, government programs or higher wages wont move the needle.

Canada has been a low fertility society for 50+ years. We’ve had low fertility in recessions, and in economic boom times. This is nothing new. What’s new is that our demographic pyramid is starting to look very top heavy and there’s a limit to how much we can paper over that with immigration. Canada will become a very aged society in the next couple of decades.

It’s not only money, but also time. I want to have time to be present in my future children’s lives.

When you add work, exercise, commuting, and necessary errands; there’s just not that much time left. I would love more work from home or a 4×10 work week, but most employers aren’t interested in either.

perhaps we should start by asking women what they want and need so they honestly wish to have a child or two, and we should maybe focus on the women who are not interested and ask them why they don’t want children and what might persuade them to change their minds;

next we should consider asking men what they want and need so they honestly wish to bring a child or two into the world and raise them to adulthood, and we should pay special attention to men who are not interested and ask them why they don’t want children and what might convince them to the change their minds

At a fundamental level you can’t actually force people who don’t want children to have children you could definitely look at why people are childless though

You could promise government mandated Cheques of 125k a year for having 2 children and people still wouldn’t bat at it