kEiThZ
Superstar
That should be quite the family debate. “We want grandchildren! Well mom and dad, just how much do you want them? Let me show you this condo brochure.”
I‘m not sure housing affordability is impacting fertility. Millions of people have many kids they can’t afford to house or fed and yet keep pumping them out. What’s impacting fertility is that women now are empowered, financially independent, more educated (vs. their male counterparts), focused on careers, friendships, experiences and enjoyment of life. This is why Canada’s immigration plan will fail, since as soon as the female children of new immigrants become empowered adults they won’t be mirroring their own mother’s high fertility.
How old are your kids? If they are old enough to give you grandkids, they will tell you exactly what @afransen and I are telling you here.
It's not women's "empowerment stopping people from having kids. It's gross that this has to be pointed out. Don't you have a daughter? I'm sure you hope for her to be more fulfilled than just being compelled into being a baby machine by culture.
It's the cost of raising kids. And the biggest cost of raising a kid is housing. The marginal cost of one child is the cost of going from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom condo. The marginal cost of the second child is the cost of going from a 2 bedroom condo to a 3 bedroom townhouse. Go look at prices and work out what that means for increases in monthly payments on mortgages and you'll quickly figure out why people are not having more kids.
Policies like subsidized childcare are window dressing. It's great that the government capped costs.... For those who can get a spot. I've been on the waiting list for after school care for 2 years. And I'm willing to pay.
See above the anecdote I gave where a Eastern European friend compared having a kid in Canada to owning a Ferrari. I can't say he was wrong. The Ferrari is probably cheaper than the second or third bedroom in most of this country.
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