The news that our national birth rate is plummeting is concerning, but it’s no surprise to single-child families like mine.
and saw that high housing costs, as well as the general expense of raising a child in today’s world, are stopping young people from procreating, my first reaction was:According to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, our national fertility rate has fallen to its lowest level since European settlement, with women now having an average of 1.5 children in their lifetime – well below the required replacement rate of 2.1.
We are not in imminent danger of homelessness or forgoing healthy, nutritious meals, and we both work. So while we aren’t financially struggling, we’re far from being financially comfortable, and even further from being comfortable enough to have more children.Even with subsidies, our childcare costs are $165 a day. Our mortgage, despite being on the lower end compared with many, still eats up a healthy portion of our incomes thanks to sustained, high interest rates.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, two-child families are still the norm, but one-child families are very much on the rise. In 1981, only 8 per cent of women aged 40 to 44 years had one child. By 2021, that number doubled to 16 per cent.following the ABS data release: “Housing affordability, economic insecurity, gender inequality and climate boiling – that’s a recipe for the most effective contraceptive ever.
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