Why Are More Children Born Late In Families Now, Than Back In The Day

In the beginning of the 20th century and perhaps up until the mid 20th century a lot more children were born in families, compared to the number of child birth in the late 20th century and especially in the 21st century. My grandmother had eight other siblings and my mother had five other siblings. Imagine to raise nine or six children you would have to be in your early 20's to give birth to your first child.

Why is it, that as time passes fewer and fewer children are born and they born late in families? The parents already have become older, when they get to the point to take responsibility and commitment to raise a child. What I personally see is that relationships nowadays are getting shorter and shorter, so the couple does not even have a chance to think about establishing a family.

The other reason could be, that young people does not want to be responsible for having a family and it is also about the fear of taking commitment or there is no stable financial background. Although I don't think, that my great grandparents and my grandparents were rich to have such large families.

Why Are Children Born Late In Families?

There are many reasons why children are born later in families, but the main one is the economic situation. The fact is, that many people do not have enough money to provide for their children. Some couples cannot even afford to have children and they couldn't take care of them properly. The other problem is, that a large number of people are not married.

Many women work and tend to have careers after they finish their education. When this problem first started, it was mostly due to the fact, that most women only did housework and childbearing was not considered a woman's profession. Recently though, changes have been happening in the society and in the economy, which have allowed more and more women to work. Even though some women have the opportunity to work, they may not be able to find a husband, who will support them and will also want to stay home to do the house work and look after the children.

These factors can directly or indirectly result in a late birth. A couple, who have their first child at a late age are more likely to have a second child at a later age as well and the cycle continues. Also people with a late child birth have a higher chance of having a late child birth themselves. Many women in our society want to finish their education, many want to have a career and marry later in life. This is true for both men and women.

Responsibilities And Commitment At A Young Age

This is also a factor, that can result in a late birth, but not in a direct way. The reasons might be the same one I mentioned before, the lack of financial stability among young people or committed relationships. If you are born in a family, where everybody is having children at an older age, you might become convinced, that you have to do the same. It is also likely, that someone who is a little older influences you.

This is probably going to be your older cousin, the one who has already had a couple of children by the time you come along. If you both grow up in the same environment, your minds are going to be more or less pre-set by the time you start having meaningful relationships. It is also quite possible, that some older boyfriend or girlfriend, who doesn't know any better influences you as well.

It is also possible, that you are in a relationship with someone, who has children already, or with someone who wants children in the future, but doesn't seem to be ready for them now. This can also cause a late birth for you, because there is no commitment between the couple. You also don't have a fallback plan, but that might be part of the relationship, right? If you aren't ready to have a baby by yourself, you're not going to just get yourself a baby are you?

What Can Be Done To Be Responsible?

This problem is complicated and not entirely of our own doing, but that doesn't make it any easier to solve. The causes are numerous and I will only be able to touch on some of them in this answer. Many people despair of this problem and give up. Others try to live safer, less exciting lives in the hopes, that they will have less children. Still others try to be a little more 'normal', which usually means trying to fit in and not stand out.

This isn't always a good idea, because if someone does notice something is different, they will most likely start asking questions. There are also many organizations dedicated to helping people, who are trying to be responsible. These aren't always completely reliable though. Some of them are religious organizations with more of a goal of 'repopulating' the world, than helping people achieve responsible parenthood. They are usually good for information, but shouldn't be trusted completely. While I'm not going to say there is any real guarantee of success, there are steps that can be taken.

The first thing you need to decide is if you are going to have any children at all. If you decide you are not, then there is no need to worry about being responsible as a parent. If you are going to have children, then the next step is to decide how many you want to have. Having more children increases the chances of one or more of them getting a balanced education, access to proper medical care and even opportunities for a better life, than you had. However it can become a burden to provide for that many people. It reduces your quality of life and the children are usually never going to be able to give anything back.

Once you have decided how many children you want to have, the next step is choosing a suitable partner. If this is going to be a permanent relationship, then you definitely don't want to get involved with someone, who is going to leave you or your children if they get some other partner. There are going to be other people in the vicinity, who are likely to have similar concerns. You should also be concerned about getting involved with someone, who is younger. You can end up with a child, who is developmentally challenged given, that you waited so long to have children.

What Is The Effect On Families?

This is easily the most important aspect of responsible parenthood. There is no point in having a child if you aren't going to give that child the best chance at a good life. Children are incredibly important to the survival of our species. They provide both manual and intellectual labor, they keep old people happy and they also fill in for dead warriors in war. That's just a few examples of how children can be important.

Children also take time, money and effort to raise. It costs money to buy the things they need like food, clothes and a place to live. It also costs money to educate them. Even if you are rich, you can't just give away money or you won't have any yourself.

Finally it takes time to raise a child. You can't just toss them in the dirt and expect them to turn into someone, who is going to be useful to the community. Despite all this, I don't think we can simply ignore the importance of new children to the community. There needs to be some kind of system in place, that deals with irresponsible parenthood.

So How Do We Deal With It?

Let's start by looking at children in general. When they are born, they need time to grow and develop. They also need the care and attention, that newborns require. During this time, the child doesn't produce anything for the family to provide for. The parent or parents can focus on taking care of the child without worrying about food or a place to sleep.

There are also some children, who just aren't going to be able to take care of themselves. Maybe they are physically or mentally incapable. Maybe the parent is unable to provide the care necessary to rear them properly. Maybe they are simply unbearably troublesome. In all these cases, someone else is going to have to step in and care for the child. This might be a relative, or a friend. Most families don't have the luxury of having a pool of people willing and able to care for children.