I’m 16 and in college getting my associates at the moment. I’m hoping to go on to finish my bachelor’s and go on to graduate school. I love kids and want to raise kids one day, although not my own biological ones because of genetic diseases I deal with. But as you mentioned, I’m unsure how I would navigate a career and children. I want to be present in my children’s life. If the public school system starts to fail them, as it did for me, I want to be able to spend time finding more nurturing education options for them. And at the same time, I need to be able to make a living. One solution I’ve considered is a multi generational household with my parents even as an adult with a career and a partner, so they can be more involved in my children’s life and be able to help when the capitalist system demands my presence. But… yeah I don’t know.
I think that's a really good potential approach. Multi-generation households and other forms of co-housing are (in my opinion) great ideas to tackle some of those and other issues. Society (especially in richer, Western countries) steers us toward the typical nuclear family with its own house, but that may not be the best option for everyone. (Or, perhaps not even the best in general). I don't have any personal experience with those forms of cohabitation, but I'm really interested in them form a cultural perspective.
You've still got plenty of time to figure it out ;).
(Also, if you don't mind me asking, what are you studying? Feel free to ignore this if you don't feel like replying.)
This made me think that our societies aren't really interested in lengthening people's life expectancy (through healthcare innovations, education about a healthy life including sports, etc.). Cynical, but also economically logical. Looking at the pyramid you posted about Japan, you could either say we need higher birth rates... or, higher, and earlier, death rates.
I think that's a good point. (Western) societies don't care either way, as long as there's enough meat in the grinder (sorry for that image). At the same time, we sometimes forget that individuals make societies. The trick is balancing societal and individual interests.
Love the title. I have something in the works about the future of community and plan to draw on some of the thoughts here about delayed and declining birth rates.
Hi Geoff, and thanks for reading. I'm not entirely sure that's true. There's recent work (example: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12953) that suggests people with higher education are not less likely to want kids. Of course, there are complicating factors. Do they wait longer? Are people in a different socioeconomic situation more likely to have unwanted pregnancies? And so on. Many moving parts ;).
Elon musk is doing more than having 11 children. He is paying autistics, including a woman who did not want children, to play non-secular quiverful. I saw a documentary with one family. The one featured in this story: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/25/american-pronatalists-malcolm-and-simone-collins
I thought I wrote about it, but couldn't find it.
The more I read about him, the creepier it gets…
I’m 16 and in college getting my associates at the moment. I’m hoping to go on to finish my bachelor’s and go on to graduate school. I love kids and want to raise kids one day, although not my own biological ones because of genetic diseases I deal with. But as you mentioned, I’m unsure how I would navigate a career and children. I want to be present in my children’s life. If the public school system starts to fail them, as it did for me, I want to be able to spend time finding more nurturing education options for them. And at the same time, I need to be able to make a living. One solution I’ve considered is a multi generational household with my parents even as an adult with a career and a partner, so they can be more involved in my children’s life and be able to help when the capitalist system demands my presence. But… yeah I don’t know.
Hi Theo, and thanks for reading!
I think that's a really good potential approach. Multi-generation households and other forms of co-housing are (in my opinion) great ideas to tackle some of those and other issues. Society (especially in richer, Western countries) steers us toward the typical nuclear family with its own house, but that may not be the best option for everyone. (Or, perhaps not even the best in general). I don't have any personal experience with those forms of cohabitation, but I'm really interested in them form a cultural perspective.
You've still got plenty of time to figure it out ;).
(Also, if you don't mind me asking, what are you studying? Feel free to ignore this if you don't feel like replying.)
I’m double majoring in political science and deaf studies!
This made me think that our societies aren't really interested in lengthening people's life expectancy (through healthcare innovations, education about a healthy life including sports, etc.). Cynical, but also economically logical. Looking at the pyramid you posted about Japan, you could either say we need higher birth rates... or, higher, and earlier, death rates.
I think that's a good point. (Western) societies don't care either way, as long as there's enough meat in the grinder (sorry for that image). At the same time, we sometimes forget that individuals make societies. The trick is balancing societal and individual interests.
Oh gosh, that image is too much for a cloudy Monday! haha
"Individuals make societies" -- a great idea to explore in a future post, if I may suggest. ;)
Please do suggest ideas; the more, the merrier.
One more for the drafts ;).
Love the title. I have something in the works about the future of community and plan to draw on some of the thoughts here about delayed and declining birth rates.
Thanks, Rose. I'll keep an eye out for that one!
To add to the problem, the smart people who you want to have more kids aren't and the people who shouldn't be having kids are.
Hi Geoff, and thanks for reading. I'm not entirely sure that's true. There's recent work (example: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12953) that suggests people with higher education are not less likely to want kids. Of course, there are complicating factors. Do they wait longer? Are people in a different socioeconomic situation more likely to have unwanted pregnancies? And so on. Many moving parts ;).