In the UK, the ONS said fewer babies were born to mothers of all age groups last year, with the biggest drop in the birth rate since 1975. According to official figures, Motherhood is most likely to begin at 30 in the UK. The most significant decline in birth rates took place among younger women, whereas in older women, the birth-rate increased due to large numbers of women in the 1990s putting off having children until later than the previous generation.
According to data released by the U.S. Census, the gap between births and deaths in the U.S. is the smallest it’s been in nearly four decades. This is due to younger Americans holding off having children and an exceptionally large group of Americans reaching mortality. That combination created a gap in births over deaths that is the lowest it has been in 35 years. Life could be tougher for rural US towns have been losing population, creating a shortage of young workers for the entry level jobs that help keep those communities afloat.
Graph http://www.infosys.com/building-tomorrows-enterprise/emerging-economies/resources/Pages/keeping-the-workforce.aspx
20 countries around the world currently show zero or negative population growth. With birth rates on the decline, the aging world may well be sitting on a demographic time bomb. Nations, industry and society will experience an acute workforce vacuum.
That's me squatting on the right with knees either side of my youngest daughter. My mother is holding my niece.
Young mothers have more time and patience to devote to child-rearing. But I never established a career to fall back on.
It's almost impossible to balance finances against child rearing. Which time is right?
Since primitive times, children came along according to nature. But we've grown way beyond that. We know best in our changing society.
So now I'm 72 years old and society supports me with a pension along with medical help and assistance. Very few people give their aging parents a home. Their lives are too busy for unimportant stuff. I wonder what will happen when there are fewer working people in proportion to those who have retired.
What are your views on the right time to have a child?