Why Have Children? By Eric Cohen

1. Why Have Children?By Eric Cohen In the most modern parts of the modern world, three aspects of fertility do seem historically unprecedented and clearly important. First, there is no stigma attached to being childless; a woman's worth, in this life or the next, is not judged adversely if she chooses never to have children. Second, children are no longer economic assets, as they generally were in rural and early industrial societies; rather, they are economic burdens, voracious consumers who produce virtually nothing until their late teens or early twenties. Third, fertility control is now both uneventful and virtually absolute. Those who want to avoid having children can easily do so--without restraining their natural sex drive, without putting themselves at physical risk, and without resorting to infanticide or abortion. Children are thus culturally optional, economically burdensome, and technologically avoidable. Still, having the option to avoid children is not a reason to avoid them, and for many, clearly, the economic burdens seem bearable enough. So the question remains: why do so many men and women in the most affluent societies in history seem to want so few offspring?

2. Historical Living Arrangements for Children, 1960-2000

4. Fertility in America Number of Children Fecundity v Fertility Menarche to Menopause From Rural-agricultural to urban/industrial society Technological changes Changing roles of women in society Crude Birth Rate: Annual # of Births Divided by Population in Thousands Total Fertility Rate: # of children 1000 women will bear during the whole of their lifetime

7. Trends in Birthrates according to NCHS • Teenage births continue to decline in number. • Decrease in women in their early twenties bearing children. • Births to older women continue to increase. • Total fertility rate rose slightly. • First birth rates for women 35-44 showed sizeable increases.

9. Family Planning? • Methods of Contraception • Sterilization (male or female) • Pill • IUD • Diaphragm • Condom • Periodic Abstinence • Abstinence

10. Mother 18 and 19th Century: Educator, Nurturer 19 to 20th Century: Icon, Nurturer 20 to 21st Century: Breadwinner, Nurturer Father 18 and 19th Century: Moral Overseer 19 to 20th Century: Distant Breadwinner 20 to 21st Century: Sex Role Model Transition to Parenthood: “No such thing. There is no transition. It’s sink or swim!!”

11. In 1959 Male Labor Force Participation was 76.62%. In 1983 it decreased to 64.21%. Male Homework participation in 1959 was 27.58%. In 1983 it rose to 30.91%. Male Childcare participation in 1959 was 22.22%. It rose slightly to 22.69% in 1983. In 1959 Female Labor Force Participation was 23.38%. In 1983 it decreased to 35.79%. Female Homework participation in 1959 was 72.42%. In 1983 it rose to 69.09%. Female Childcare participation in 1959 was 77.78%. It rose slightly to 77.31% in 1983. 1959 v 1983Role ParticipationSource: Victor R. Fuchs, “Sex Differences in Economic Well-Being.”

12. Source: “Is Anyone Doing the Housework? Trends in the Gender Division of Household Labor.” Authors:Bianchi, Suzanne M., Milkie, Melisa A., Sayer, Liana C., Robinson, John