by ♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥
Member since:
April 3, 2011

Birthrate decreasing in Europe and North America... a problem that concerns YOU?

May 16, 2011 05:18 AM UTC (Updated: May 18, 2011 02:27 AM UTC)
views: 0 | 3 people recommend this | comments: 36

I was watching a great documentary on French tv last week (I'm German) that less and less children are born in Europe. I guess North America (USA and Canada) face the same problems. On the other side, that's not much of a problem in Africa and Asia.

What do you think are the reasons for each side?


In Europe, the main reason is the change in a woman's role. I am a woman myself and I would never be satisfied with doing only housework and having kids. I want to work and earn my own money. I want to be independent. Maybe this will backfire on us...
But I do have plans to get children in a few years and I'd love to have two. But not five or more as it was usual years ago.

So, what do you think?

Comments: 36

DarkBeauty 73 (Melanie) May 16, 2011, 7:31am UTC
I don't know what the reason would be for the decease other then couples waiting to have kids later in life and then having problems conceiving. But then again maybe the economy has something to do with it. Kids after all are expensive. Plus the whole two income families, both wanting to work and not thinking it fair to the kids to be left with a babysitter or day care.

I am a stay at home mom with both of my kids, I was able to stay home and I was surprised that I didn't mind it.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 16, 2011, 7:54am UTC
At the moment, we are DINKS - double income, no kids. We pay as much as we can to the bank for the house loan. We are planning to have kids in 1 or 2 years. After the Caribbean cruise ;-)
At the moment, we could not hold our house with only one income. I guess we are lucky here in Germany that we get some financial aids but daycare is so expensive, that if two parents go to work, one income is almost dedicated to daycare only ^^ That is ridiculous!
DarkBeauty 73 (Melanie) May 16, 2011, 9:16am UTC
Yeah a lot of times the second parent here is only working to put kids in day care.
mmerlinn ?. May 20, 2011, 4:58am UTC
That makes one wonder if the tradeoff is worth it. If you are working to support daycare, you might as well do the daycare yourself and save the extra taxes you are paying for the privilege of paying for daycare.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 5:15am UTC
Exactly!
DarkBeauty 73 (Melanie) May 20, 2011, 6:34am UTC
I agree.
Fren W. May 16, 2011, 8:04am UTC
I believe America is at very high risk for losing it's culture because we do not have more children per family. It takes something like 2.5 children to maintain a culture and last I read America was teetering at that benchmark. We see what's happening as a result of it. On the other side of that coin, I've read Muslims average 8-children per family. Speaks for itself in Europe and Canada, as well as America, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it seems, the families who use common sense in deciding how many children to have (be that affordability, working women, use of birth control or other) are the very segment of society we would want rearing more children.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 16, 2011, 8:26am UTC
You are so correct! In Germany we have less than 1.5 children, I think the last figure was 1.3 per family :-( I'd love to have 2... maybe 3... depends on, yes MONEY :-(

I love your last sentence. I must admit, I consider it to be true.
Fren W. May 16, 2011, 8:53am UTC
I wish you well in child bearing and rearing, it is a marvelous experience I would not want to have missed. Some people over-intellectualize it, don't wait too long! :o} Larger families tend to be the closest (there's more to choose from in whom to side with during riffs, lol).
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 16, 2011, 9:00am UTC
I do not have any siblings and I sometimes miss that experience...
mmerlinn ?. May 20, 2011, 5:07am UTC
Large families have a built-in support group and tend to be more self-sufficient. The children also tend to be less selfish since they were forced to share as they were growing up.

I am one of 10. And none of us have ever been on welfare, unemployment, food stamps, or anything else dependent on government largesse.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 5:13am UTC
mmerlinn, my parents did not plan to only have one daughter. Sorry, but I do not get the intention of your comment. Did you intend to tell me I am more selfish?
mmerlinn ?. May 20, 2011, 5:51am UTC
Absolutely not. My point was that because children that grow up in large families are FORCED to share, they are FORCED to learn to be considerate of others, usually before others do. That does NOT mean that people in small families don't learn consideration. It just means they learn it through OTHER life experiences.

And I am NOT saying all large families produce considerate people - They don't. But when you are forced to do something for years, in most cases it stays with you for life.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 6:06am UTC
Ok, now I understood :-)
Diane Huizenga May 16, 2011, 9:33am UTC
Kids are very expensive, I once heard to raise a child from birth to adulthood costs about 200,000 dollars, two is my limit. I have two sons 20 and 19
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 17, 2011, 9:35am UTC
I have also read that figure... but with 200,000 euros, which is more :-(
Dennis Gilman May 16, 2011, 11:15am UTC
You "would never be satisfied with doing only housework and having kids. I want to work and earn my own money"? You "want to be independent"?

Well, my wife feels the same way, but we still manage to fit raising children. You need not sacrifice self actualization or independence to have children. I must admit to an advantage you might not have: Both sets of grandparents lived very nearby. My grandmother yearned to assist also, but she lived too far.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 17, 2011, 9:34am UTC
We can't expect any assistance by our grandparents. My parents are too far away and hubby's parents are still working full-time themselves.
You can't pay for a house and kids with only one salary. That's not possible unless that one salaray is extraordinary.
Dennis Gilman May 17, 2011, 10:05am UTC
I thought so.

Oh well . . . Maybe some day.
Pamela Marks May 18, 2011, 2:19pm UTC
Dennis in our home both I and my husband have both worked or just one of us from time to time. After my last bout of being sick he didn't want me to work anymore. Did we have to make sacrifices? Yes we did but we cut out the non needed stuff first, and after years of doing this we are still able to have date night almost every week, provide our kids with clothes, and some fun stuff to boot.

By the way we have 6 kids and live on one salary and we don't make as much as some but more then others, and everyone asks us how do you do it? Well planning and saving is what has gotten this far, and of course help from the big Guy upstairs.
Dennis Gilman May 18, 2011, 2:31pm UTC
Congratulations. That's how it's to be done.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 5:11am UTC
Congratulations!
John S. (arizona) May 16, 2011, 2:12pm UTC
Not sure a problem is the best word, many would say it good, others bad. The funny thing is that governments are always harping on over-population issues, yet seek out more people to have ever expanding economic bases on the other hand. Go figure...
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 18, 2011, 2:25am UTC
Yes, somehow that does not make sense...
Holly K. May 18, 2011, 1:46pm UTC
I think it's a good thing overall. People should do what makes them happiest.
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 3:19am UTC
I agree, thanks for stopping by :-)

Fairies
Pamela Marks May 18, 2011, 2:15pm UTC
I think that the increase with people seeing abortion as a alternative to having children has greatly made a difference in people having children.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ May 20, 2011, 3:18am UTC
Why do you think so? Sorry, I do not understand how one affects the other.
Pamela Marks May 21, 2011, 3:32pm UTC
with Abortions being seen as more of alternative more people are getting them so there has been a decline in the birthrate.
Renita P. Jul 22, 2011, 12:42pm UTC
I agree about the cause - women's independence as well as finances. But I do know that certain religious groups are gaining more control as a result of their beliefs to populate the earth! Not sure that is a good thing.
Renita P. Jul 22, 2011, 12:42pm UTC
This comment is to let you know that your content has reached 50 views and has been removed from "Let’s Get To Know Each Other." Thanks for posting.

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