Anonymous wrote:Nobody needs to be a parent.
Unless they TRULY want to be, better not to be.
Does it make you a "better" person? Hell yes.
It' makes you more well rounded, less selfish, more responsible and stronger. Does it matter? Hell no. You don't need a family to be happy and you don't need kids to make you whole. You have to want kids because it's a nightmare otherwise.
Also, I'm not sure why we need 10 billion human beings alive on earth? So we have fewer people, so what? Seriously, I think those alive would be WAY happier as a result.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The baby maker in our family (me) is also the higher paid spouse. So one and done it was. The recession hit millennials right as they were getting out of grad school and college, not a coincidence. We got totally screwed. We did buy our first homes with super low interest rates though.
I wish we had been able to afford a second child back in 2012, but we were dual gs-12s and austerity policies meant no raises for years. Childcare for two was out of reach, there was no maternity leave, and no telework. Younger millennials may have had more choices but we really didn’t. I could have another now, but I’m 40 and my first is in middle school. No way. Planning for college now.
Assuming you mean the recession in the early 2000s, there was a similar length recession in the early 1990s which affected a lot of we Gen Xers’ job prospects when we graduated college. And the recessions of the early 2000s and late 2000s hit when many of us were deciding whether to have a child and/or more children. Again I am Gen X and most of my peers had their children born in that decade. So I don’t think the answer is nearly as simple as you are making out.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The baby maker in our family (me) is also the higher paid spouse. So one and done it was. The recession hit millennials right as they were getting out of grad school and college, not a coincidence. We got totally screwed. We did buy our first homes with super low interest rates though.
I wish we had been able to afford a second child back in 2012, but we were dual gs-12s and austerity policies meant no raises for years. Childcare for two was out of reach, there was no maternity leave, and no telework. Younger millennials may have had more choices but we really didn’t. I could have another now, but I’m 40 and my first is in middle school. No way. Planning for college now.
Assuming you mean the recession in the early 2000s, there was a similar length recession in the early 1990s which affected a lot of we Gen Xers’ job prospects when we graduated college. And the recessions of the early 2000s and late 2000s hit when many of us were deciding whether to have a child and/or more children. Again I am Gen X and most of my peers had their children born in that decade. So I don’t think the answer is nearly as simple as you are making out.
Anonymous wrote:The baby maker in our family (me) is also the higher paid spouse. So one and done it was. The recession hit millennials right as they were getting out of grad school and college, not a coincidence. We got totally screwed. We did buy our first homes with super low interest rates though.
I wish we had been able to afford a second child back in 2012, but we were dual gs-12s and austerity policies meant no raises for years. Childcare for two was out of reach, there was no maternity leave, and no telework. Younger millennials may have had more choices but we really didn’t. I could have another now, but I’m 40 and my first is in middle school. No way. Planning for college now.
Anonymous wrote:The cost of raising a child today is much higher than 30-40 years ago in inflation adjusted dollars. For child care thru college it could be twice as much.
Anonymous wrote:We'll see what they think of their decision in 40 years when they end up in a nursing home with no kids or family to visit.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Interesting WAPO article -
"Millennials aren't having kids"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/03/millennials-only-children/
I love seeing the data on this. It really follows closely what I see in my personal life among my friends. What do you think are the reasons? I don't think it will turn around, millennial are rapidly approaching 40 or are already there.
It is very obvious to me ( Gen x) Women are expected to earn and make a good living AND also be the perfect homemaker/wife/mom. Until men step up women are smart not to fall into the trap.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Mormons are overwhelmingly politically conservative but have the highest rate of mental illness in the country.
https://www.abc4.com/news/utah-has-the-highest-rate-of-mental-health-illness-in-the-u-s/amp/
No, that’s not true. LDS folks just access mental health resources better and more than others.
Please provide backup for this statement.