The millennials who would love to have kids – but can’t afford a family
The UK’s birthrate is at a record low, with fertility rates for women under 30 at their lowest levels since records began in 1938.There are many factors that contribute to this, including the fact that many people struggle with infertility; some make a positive personal choice not to have children; and others decide against having kids because of the uncertainties and peril of the climate crisis.
But finances and the rising costs of living are a persistent and growing issue. Just last month, the Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds, pointed out that many people are being forced to put off settling down and having families thanks to “cost pressures” overseen by the current Tory government.
“One in five women are childless by midlife (including involuntarily and by choice) and 80% of those are due to circumstance, not infertility,” says Jody Day, the founder of Gateway Women, a support network for involuntarily childless women.
“So much of this 80% is due to a tapestry of systemic issues, like student debts and career focus, meaning that family planning is left too late,” she adds, while rising house prices and a lack of affordable childcare make genuine financial security seem harder and harder to attain.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, the cost of raising a child to 18 in 2021 could be as much as £71,611. Academic Joanna Zajac has a three-year-old daughter and would like another child, but has realised that it is not financially viable, mainly because of childcare costs. “I am Polish and my partner is Italian and in both of these countries you have heavily subsidised childcare, whereas the UK is lagging seriously behind,” she says. “We both work, so we’re already paying the equivalent of another mortgage for our existing childcare. Britain feels like the worst place you could possibly be in Europe when it comes to raising small children.”
In a recent survey of more than 20,000 working parents, 97% of respondents said the cost of childcare was too expensive.
Read more at: The Guardian