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When to Have Children

When to Have Children. Factors for Would-be Children. Society and social values Religion ( couples who attend faith services tend to have more children than those who don’t) Economic conditions and personal finances Feelings about children Psychological readiness

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When to Have Children

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  1. When to Have Children

  2. Factors for Would-be Children • Society and social values • Religion ( couples who attend faith services tend to have more children than those who don’t) • Economic conditions and personal finances • Feelings about children • Psychological readiness • Presence of genetic diseases • Pressure from friends and other family members

  3. When to have children • The Average age of women having their first child is rising: • 1960s and 1970’s – early 20s • Between 1986 and 1997 – between 20 and 34 years • Many women ‘delayed parenting’ – so had a shorter time to have children • The net result being a reduction in fertility rates

  4. Mothers, young and old 29.6 - The average age of mothers who gave birth in 2003, continuing a long-established upward trend. Two decades ago, the average age was 26.9 years. 48% - The percentage of mothers in Canada who were age 30 and older when they gave birth in 2003. 52% - The percentage of mothers in Canada who were under age 30 when they gave birth in 2003. 30.3 - The average age of mothers in Ontario who gave birth in 2003, the oldest in Canada. 25.3 - The average age of mothers in Nunavut who gave birth in 2003, the youngest in Canada. Source: The Daily, July 12, 2005, "Births".

  5. 94 - The number of females in Canada under the age of 15 who had given birth (live births) in 2003. 346 - The number of females in Canada aged 45 to 49 who had given birth (live births) in 2003. Source: CANSIM Table 102-4508, "Live births, by age and parity of mother, Canada, annual". New mothers • 28.0 - The average age among women who gave birth for the first time in 2003. • 21.7 - The average age of first-time mothers in Nunavut, the youngest in Canada in 2003. Source : The Daily, July 12, 2005, "Births".

  6. Why These Trends? • Men and women are staying in school longer • Couples getting married later – start families later, women miss their ‘most fertile’ years

  7. A small family has become the norm for couples who delay parenthood Symboilc Interactionists would say that couples who delay parenthood are choosing to control their own destiny (does this mean that they are in a sense ‘choosing to play God?)

  8. There are definitely new norms for older parents – often into their 40’s -in the past couples may have been considered to ‘old’ to become parents, but new norms have been created through their behaviour

  9. Medical Technologies • As medical technology develops, we hear and see on the media of women into their late 40s and even older having children • What do you think? • For some women, the later they have their first child, the harder it is to actually conceive

  10. Even with modern technology such as in vitro, women who are infertile suffer the same amount of anxiety and depression as women who are suffering from cancer and heart disease

  11. Dual Income Families • Parenting delayed so they can afford the cost of a child • One spouse needs to have an extended absence from employment or use child care

  12. Births Outside of Marriage • Births by women outside of marriage has increased (look at chart on p. 286) • Births outside of marriage in the past were teenage moms, however, that has changed • More than half the births outside of marriage were primarily to women over the age of 25

  13. Why? • Cohabitation more common – (for example in Quebec) • Symbolic Interactionists would say that this is becoming an acceptable ‘societal norm’ and the acceptance of the idea of how unmarried mothers view themselves

  14. Teenage Births • Rate and number of teenage births in Canada is decreasing (see chart on p. 287) • Why? • The text book states that this is because teens are have more education about contraception etc • However, look at what is happening to the abortion rate • Again, Why?

  15. Number of Children • The birth rate in Canada has been declining steadily since the end of the Baby Boom • 1.5 birth rate, far below the 2.1 replacement rate • However, the birth rate for immigrants, such as the Muslim population, is sky rocketing

  16. Homework • Read the in focus on p. 289 and answer questions on p. 292 • Using the social exchange theory, apply it to delayed parenting. (you will hand this in for assessment)

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