Australia's birth rate is plummeting, with more of us choosing to have one child, or none. At 26, Elvis is one of many in his generation who say having children isn't part of the plan.
SBS On Demand. I live in an old Canberra share house, work long hours and at 26, I'm one of many young Australians who struggle with the idea of kids and a family. For me, that choice was largely made through circumstances before I was even born. Growing up in the small NSW river town of Moruya, my neighbourhood was filled with families where no two looked alike. In the weatherboard house next door, an older single dad embraced the challenge of raising his school-age daughter.
Mum eventually stopped asking when she would get grandchildren 'Elvy, it’s okay I know you’re busy,' she would say. The loss of an aspiration is a slow pain. It only feels sharp in the moments we realise we've become dull. I had that moment through a phone call from a friend, who said, 'I’m going to be a dad!' He was 25, my only friend to start a family, and one of few who had the means to make fatherhood tenable.
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