Falling birth rate

Falling birth rate in all the developed countries is the cause of grave concern, if only to cover pensions. The number of old people/pensioners is grown as well as the fact that they live far longer than in previous years, often in very bad health. It’s a double whammy for the economy.

Yes, definitely a cause for concern

Well I've done my bit with my 4 👍
But hey, we will all be pensioners together and all put pressure on dwindling resources. Oh no 👎

Many women are choosing not to have children at all these days, or they leave it very late & have just one ( possibly two )
Pretty much every woman I know ( under early 40’s ) have two children, which has been the norm for a while.
When I was growing up in the 60’s nearly every family I knew had 4 or 5 children, quite a few had 6.
It’s getting so bad primary schools are closing in some areas.

But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less.

Incidentally, I was born in the mid 50s and I don't remember many families with more than two or three children.

LOUISA1523

Yes, definitely a cause for concern

Why?

The world is running out of resources. Isn't it a good thing that there might be fewer of us?

Unless there is something wrong with the way in which news is reaching me abroad this summer, I heard that the number of births inEnglandandWalesrose last year??
According to theOffice for National Statistics(ONS), some 594,677 live births were registered in 2024, up 0.6 per cent from 591,072 in 2023.

escaped

Unless there is something wrong with the way in which news is reaching me abroad this summer, I heard that the number of births inEnglandandWalesrose last year??
According to theOffice for National Statistics(ONS), some 594,677 live births were registered in 2024, up 0.6 per cent from 591,072 in 2023.

How many births does that represent for the number of couples of reproductive age? It could be a declining percentage (sorry, I don't know).

Agree. The world needs fewer people.

I read it here growstuff
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0vvr9j1dxo
The news item on my car radio was also very upbeat about it, (and something else since covid, but I've forgotten what).

But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less

I’m pretty sure someone from the Labour Party was encouraging people to have more children - might have been dreaming of course.

Very few people will be needed in the future as most jobs will be done by robots / AI.
So let’s just let the human race die out naturally - seems to be what some people want.

escaped

I read it here growstuff
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0vvr9j1dxo
The news item on my car radio was also very upbeat about it, (and something else since covid, but I've forgotten what).

Thanks for posting that.

Grammaretto

Well I've done my bit with my 4 👍
But hey, we will all be pensioners together and all put pressure on dwindling resources. Oh no 👎

But have your kids had kids many kids of their own?
You dont have to answer that.

Amongst all the younger people in that rough age group that I know, almost none have more than 2 kids. Some have 1. Many have 0 and are quite open about saying they dont intend to in the future either.

Kandinsky

*But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less*

I’m pretty sure someone from the Labour Party was encouraging people to have more children - might have been dreaming of course.

Very few people will be needed in the future as most jobs will be done by robots / AI.
So let’s just let the human race die out naturally - seems to be what some people want.

That's a bit dramatic! The human race won't be dying out any time soon - unless a massive asteroid lands on the planet.

growstuff

Incidentally, I was born in the mid 50s and I don't remember many families with more than two or three children.

But that wouild still somewhat tie in with the 2.4 children.

Now it is 1.2. Last statistic I read.

When my DC were born in 1970s and 80s, we knew plenty of other families with 4 or more DC so it was not unusual. One family with 9 DC were brought to school in a minibus. They were a Scottish Italian family.

3 of my DC have 2 each and one has an only child. They all started a lot later than we did.

When we moved here 45 years ago there were 8 feeder primary schools for a huge High school. Now there are 5 and 2 high schools are to be amalgamated.
Hundreds of new houses are being built on green fields so goodness knows what that will do to local services.

Meanwhile my family have left longsince for faraway places.

fancythat

Grammaretto

Well I've done my bit with my 4 👍
But hey, we will all be pensioners together and all put pressure on dwindling resources. Oh no 👎

But have your kids had kids many kids of their own?
You dont have to answer that.

Amongst all the younger people in that rough age group that I know, almost none have more than 2 kids. Some have 1. Many have 0 and are quite open about saying they dont intend to in the future either.

My grandmother and gt grandfather were only children. They were born at the end of the Victorian era, when there had been a massive population explosion. Apparently, the decision to have only one child was deliberate (goodness only knows what they used for contraception) because, even in those days, they were concerned about the planet. My grandmother had two children and her parents were furious.

fancythat

growstuff

Incidentally, I was born in the mid 50s and I don't remember many families with more than two or three children.

But that wouild still somewhat tie in with the 2.4 children.

Now it is 1.2. Last statistic I read.

Yes, it would. 2.1 children per couple are needed to keep the population stable.

growstuff

But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less.

Labour perhaps should have considered that before they put a 20% hike on private school fees.

Grammaretto

When my DC were born in 1970s and 80s, we knew plenty of other families with 4 or more DC so it was not unusual. One family with 9 DC were brought to school in a minibus. They were a Scottish Italian family.

3 of my DC have 2 each and one has an only child. They all started a lot later than we did.

When we moved here 45 years ago there were 8 feeder primary schools for a huge High school. Now there are 5 and 2 high schools are to be amalgamated.
Hundreds of new houses are being built on green fields so goodness knows what that will do to local services.

Meanwhile my family have left longsince for faraway places.

Presumably the new houses will bring more children, so new schools will need to be built. County councils factor in the need for school places. You sound as though you regret the building on green spaces. Presumably that wouldn't be needed if the population were to decline.

Sago

growstuff

But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less.

Labour perhaps should have considered that before they put a 20% hike on private school fees.

I doubt if it would make much difference. There are plenty of places for all the country's children (if their parents don't mind them slumming it).

In 2023 just 56% of births were white British. That concerns me far more than a falling birth rate.

Is it one of the main pillars of Reform- that we should all be breeding and returning to an ideal family life where women stay home in drudgery and men rule everything?

Or have I misunderstood?