Most of the positives of having children cannot be appreciated through observation whereas the negatives çan be. The absolute joy and love of parenthood can only be known through the actual experience of it.

Billionaires are pricing people out of housing and infrastruture. It's a significant reason .

When I was born, in the early 60’s an average working class family in their 30’s in the developed world could live well on one salary. They could buy a house, send their kids to college, have a holiday. How many families can afford that today?

Can't meet someone can't have children

This money first way of living is ruining human connections.   Wife and I are in 40s and each have corporate careers and two young children.  We are constantly tired in working all day and then coming home to raise kids.  We both complain to each other that there has to be a better way to have family, especially with kids at young age.  We both come to the conclusion is that it's this work rat race that is the problem.  We would rather spend more time and energy with our kids than with work.  The only reason we go to work is for pay.  Being able to take some time off, even if it's for a month or so, just to take care of personal life, is almost impossible.  It's rare that the job will let you take that much time.  Can take a year off of work but when going back in the work force, may not get the same pay as before and more than likely the same paid time off as before.

"All of human history, they've (parents) have been tired." Amen. And it's super worth it.

Women just "deselect men" by default. In a survey, they will always say they can't find a partner, even if they can.

Lack of PUBS,CLUBS AND NIGHT LIFE in most of our Villages and Towns has certainly had an effect...! Online can only bring Two People Together its not always a healthy  Promoting of family and Community..!

Just so you know, the rich ones didn't stopped having kids, unless they intentionally don't want kids. Otherwise they just continue as normal.

It’s not ‘old tradition’ being a ‘bad’ thing, it’s biology! We are not designed for jobs and materialism first, we are designed for relationship, family and community first.

“Some kids really need their parents”. All kids need their parents!

Weird, can't find this book on Amazon

I always find it amusing when time and time again the claim that more women going to university and men falling behind is part of the reason for less people coupling up. I live in a university town and the amount of graduated students who stay and choose to work in large retail and hospitality chains has steadily been growing for years. I have had a few conversation with these students and they say the debt is crippling and quite often they need to find a job quickly before they can even consider using their degree in any meaningful way. Over prescribed university courses, that often don't have a clear career pathway is a big part of the reason that education today is no guarantee of a successful life.

“Men don’t want to take paternity leave”.  Literally the first time I’ve ever heard that sentiment

'Worked for David Cameron' and is wondering 'why are people not having children'. Seriously dear. This is your society. This is what you worked to produce. An atomised, impoverished world of 'all verses all'. But God forbid a Tory show a hit of self-awareness. Let alone contrition. Or, heaven have mercy. Take responsibility for the mess you created.

The fatherhood premium is because men start trying to earn more in order to provide for their family. They do more work, shifts, create side businesses to make sure their family is secure as can be. If you are a single/childless man then there is no need to do all this and men will happily live simple lives and spend more time on things they want to do.

It couldn't be because people now have a choice, and in the complex process of deciding, more and more people are observing and comparing the lives of people with children and people without children, and drawing conclusions, could it?

For most people children are not affordable until 40s and then you are just to tired and don't bother. If I could buy a house when I was 25 would definitely have kids - that's when it was an exiting perspective.

I am 59 and never had a girlfriend, partly because I kept bottling my chances when they came. Women were a bit more interested after I turned 30, partly because they were starting to worry, but I did not fancy them. Probably you get used to it, but the bitterness and rejection you feel when a girl you really like turns you down is one of the most intense experiences I have had. Probably different if you are the sort of person happy to chance your arm with someone you only just met. Anyway, at 56 I became a father via international  surrogacy, and if you heard IVF treatment is difficult and expensive, it is easy compared to surrogacy. It took me 10 months to get my son a passport, and I had to pay lawyers well over £100,000 just to get the stupid parental order.

39:01 The thing you really notice when you’re the only single person in a crowd of parents is their obsession with their kids toileting. I remember multiple times where I just wanted to say “I really don’t need any details about your kids latest poo.”