Thinning the Numbers: A Lessening Population

Research has shown that the generation currently between 15 and 28 will be having fewer children than their parents and grandparents. Why is this? Pregnancies and children have been around since the beginning of time, yet it seems that fewer and fewer women and couples are deciding to become pregnant and start a family. Why is this? Why are birth rates expected to decline in the coming years when traditionally birth rates have alwasy gone up and mortality rates have gone down? Here's a look at some of the reasons women are having fewer babies these days.

Less need.
It used to be that families needed dozens and dozens of children to work just so they could help around the house and feed themselves. While the need to feed and house yourself still exists... it's not as difficult as it used to be. There is still not as much of a need to have children. Now, having children is completely dependent on whether or notyou want to have kids. With the advent of birth control putting your own time frame on having kids has become a lot easier.

Global awareness.
Everyone these days is more globally aware. People are aware of how their actions and habits effect their community, their country, and the world overall. Having kids has a big effect on the amount of resources you consume. Waste goes up and productivity goes down. Combined with the world's total over population, adding more people to the mix simply doesn't make sense for some people.

Independent women.
The women's movement completely changed the way women thought. Women were no longer compelled to get married and have children. They had careers and hobbies outside of their home. The status quo has been slowly changing. It's becoming less and less expected for a woman to marry immediately and have kids. Women are no longer dependent on men for financial support. More and more women are owning their own homes and living independently. They are content with their lives the way they are and feel no need to add children to the equation.

Parenting awareness.
Parenting methods have become a hot topic in recent years. Modern psychology has brought new light to the effects that different parenting decisions can have on the future well-being of a child. With so many sources of information people are aware of just how difficult parenting can be. Many people are now becoming aware of how their parents decisions affected their adult life. Deciding to become a parent is a huge decision and many people are simply not willing to take on that responsibility. Many people see this reason for not having kids as a selfish reason. However, if it's between not having kids and being happy or having kids and being a miserable parent I'd say not having kids is the better decision.

There are many more reasons that women and men are deciding to not have children. These are just some of the more obvious and more prominent ones.