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Does this video glamourize spousal abuse or raise awareness about the issue?. Having Children. Unit 4 – Chapter 9. Childbearing in Canada. Over 90% of Canadians say that they intend to become parents Childbearing in Canada changed dramatically since the 1960s
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Does this video glamourize spousal abuse or raise awarenessabout the issue?
Having Children Unit 4 – Chapter 9
Childbearing in Canada • Over 90% of Canadians say that they intend to become parents • Childbearing in Canada changed dramatically since the 1960s • Parenthood is an irreversible step • No matter how you become a parent, parenthood changes your life forever • Parenthood is associated with permanence and obligation
Looking Back at Expanding Families • Suanne Kelman’s great myths of the history of family life: • Family groupings consisted of large extended families with at least 3 generations in one home • The nuclear family is a form unique to the industrialized world • For most of history, the family was merely an economic unit until the West invented romantic love
Childbearing in Canada Today • In all modern post-industrial societies, children are valued for emotional and social reasons, not for economic reasons • People have children today to satisfy social needs Ex. Passing down the family name and traditions, sharing values and views of the world • People are also having children to fulfill psychological and emotional needs
Fertility Trends • Fertility the ability to produce children • Fertility trends are of interest to public planners and governments to plan future public policy, public agencies and social supports • Total fertility rate is the estimated number of children born to each woman each year • Canada’s total fertility rate is below replacement rate which is 2.1 births per woman
Fertility Trends • We are not producing enough children to replace our population • This raises concerns for business because there may not be enough workers or consumers for economic growth • It is a concern for governments because there may not be enough younger people to create the economic output to provide the support systems for older generations
Fertility Trends • Even though families are no longer worried about their children supporting them directly, as a society we need to be concerned that there will be enough people to support our social systems
The 1st Demographic Transition • Demographics are the characteristics of a human population as used in government, marketing or opinion research • Fertility rates in Canada have been decreasing since the 1870s • During the first demographic transition, from 1870 – 1945, industrial families were expected to raise children on a family wage
The 1st Demographic Transition • Mandatory schooling in 1870 and child-labour legislation in the early 1900s made children financially dependent on their parents for much longer • Improved health care reduced infant and maternal mortality rates • Birth control was illegal and was considered immoral and sinful
The 1st Demographic Transition • Yet couples were aware of and used methods to control the size of their families • Because families did not want as many children as before, the fertility rate declined
The Baby Boom • The baby boom of 1947 to 1966 reflects the dramatic social changes that followed WWII • Government policies and social marketing encouraged women to return to their domestic roles and have children • A post-war housing boom enabled young families to buy houses in new suburban communities • The federal government introduced the Family Allowance, a monthly payment per child to all mothers
The Baby Boom • The Family Allowance acknowledged that Canadian society as a whole valued children and had a stake in them • Canada’s fertility rate rose to 3.94 as the birth rate increased for older and younger women • Social institutions and policies encouraged couples to have children
The 2nd Demographic Transition • The baby-boom generation began to reach their childbearing years in the 1960s but they did not have children right away • The birth-control pill became available and legalized in 1969 • It became the norm for couples to use contraception when they married until they were ready to have children
The 2nd Demographic Transition • Gender equality, increased education, greater labour force participation and equal pay policies for women made it more costly to give up income to stay home and have children • From 1961 to 1971, Canada’s fertility rate declined from 3.94 to 2.0, below the replacement level of 2.1 • It has continued to decline since then
Current Fertility Rates • In the past, younger women aged 20-24 were responsible for the highest levels of fertility • Recently, fertility rates have started to increase and are attributed to women aged 30-39 • Currently, the fertility rate of women aged 30-34 is higher than women aged 25-29 • The fertility rate in 2007 was 1.66, the highest since 1992
Births Outside of Marriage • Births by unmarried women have increased • In the past, children born outside of marriage were considered to be illegitimate, meaning the child did not have the legal rights to support the inheritance that a child born to married parents would have had • Having a child “out of wedlock” was considered shameful and sinful
Births Outside of Marriage • In the past, mothers who did not give up their child for adoption usually developed a story to explain the absence of a father • The stigma seems to have disappeared • In the past, births outside of marriage were primarily to women in their teens • More than half of all unmarried mothers are now over the age of 25
Delayed Parenthood • In the 1960s and 1970s, most women had their first child when they were in their early 20s • By 1996, that age changed to their late 20s • In 2006, the average age of first-time mothers in Canada was 29.3 • In 2007, the number of live births to women aged 30-34 surpassed that of women aged 25-29 for the first time
Delayed Parenthood • Having children later than the established time has an impact on Canadian fertility rates because women who begin childbearing later in life have a shorter time in which to have children • Emerging adults in Canada are delaying the transition to adulthood by pursuing more education and working later • Couples are cohabiting first, then marrying later
Delayed Parenthood • Couples who delay parenting tend to be well-educated and in a dual-income family with higher family income • Women who delay childbearing are twice as likely to be married as those having children in their early 20s • However, these socio-economic benefits are offset by health concerns
Delayed Parenthood • As fertility declines with age, chances of having children decline and more couples are turning to assisted human reproduction • The decreased fertility is contributing to the aging of Canadian society such that grandparents and parents will outnumber children • In the future, the post-productive population that have retired will outnumber those working and paying taxes to support the social network
Infant Mortality • Infant and child mortality rates in Canada have been steadily declining • In 1901, 1 in 7 infants died before their 1st birthday, and 1 in 7 children who survived infancy died before their 14th birthday • From 1960 to 1996, the number of infants who died in their 1st year declined from 27.3 per 1000 live births to 5.6 • This was the 2nd largest decline in the world
Infant & Child Mortality • By 2006, infant mortality rate for Canada was 5.0 per 1000 live births • This trend is not consistent across Canada • P.E.I. had the lowest in 2005 at 2.1, Nunavut had the highest at 13.4 • The child mortality rate has also declined • Governments and social-service agencies are interested in mortality data to try to determine the cause for mortality and to better support parents and children
Infant & Child Mortality • Access to universal health care has reduced infant and child mortality rates • Better education about prenatal and postnatal care has given women a better understanding of how to care for themselves and their child(ren) • Since Canadians are no longer afraid of losing the children they have, this is one factor of lower birth rates
Maternal Mortality Rate • Maternal mortality rate is death while pregnant or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy • Improved prenatal and obstetrical care have reduced the number of deaths and maternal mortality rates have decreased • The risks of pregnancy and childbirth associated with having a baby very early or very late in a woman’s reproductive years have decreased
Deciding to Have Children • Whether to have a child, how many and when, involves desires and decisions influenced by cultural and religious beliefs that women and men have about children, family and community • In the past, children were an inevitable part of married life as there were few options for birth control • Now, couples can choose when and if to have children
Deciding to Have Children • In 2004, 66% of Canadian children were planned • Yet, on average, Canadian couples do not have as many children as they would like to have • Children are viewed as a source of developmental satisfaction accompanied by steep monetary costs
Couple Relationships & Children • Decisions to have children are made by individuals to meet their needs within the couple relationship • The couple is also influenced by how they have been socialized about having children
Couple Relationships & Children Factors to consider when planning to have children: • Having enough time for children • Recognizing the responsibilities involved with having children • Strength of couple’s relationship
Couple Relationships & Children • Individuals in couple relationships choose to become parents because they feel that it will fulfill them as individuals and enrich their relationship • They question whether having children will make them happier, if the answer is yes, then they have children