This week in our class, we discussed the trends that are happening in family life. The research that we looked at is taken from around the world, but much of it was taken from more developed countries because of its accessibility. What we saw was that there is a major decrease in the birth rate around the world and in turn the fertility rate has decreased to the point that one day soon we will no longer be able to maintain our population. You may be thinking now, “Wait, hold up Elizabeth, what in the world does that mean to us?” And I will tell you.
The birth rate is the number of births in a 1000 people born in a population in a year. Fertility rate is the average number of children born in the lifetime of the average woman. The average fertility rate around the world is below 2.13, which is the minimum in order to replace those of the population that pass on. So, we now know that less babies are being born per woman and per year. Now, how does that affect our population? Isn’t it common knowledge that our population is growing and causing more and more people to be out of a job, more and more people to be homeless, more and more people to go hungry? Well, yes, our population is growing, but not really because so many people are having so many babies. People are living longer. I cannot tell you how many stories I have heard of people living to be a hundred years old now. If someone had heard of a hundred year old person 25 years ago it would have been a rarity. Our health care now is wonder. We can do miraculous things, and so many more people have the capacity to live much longer than they did before.
Now, what was this that I said about the fertility and birth rate dropping so low that one day we will not be able to maintain our population? Well, that we (we referring to the human race as a whole) are not having the children that we need to maintain our older generations that are coming out of the work force. Imagine all of the knowledge that your grandparents have. Imagine all of the knowledge that your parents have. Who is it that was or is in the workforce and about to leave it? Them! They need us, just like we need them. They need a strong generation of young people to care for the world just like they decided to when they were young and made the brave decision to have a family, work, and then do that day after day.
Do we not always say that the children are the future? The children that we raise now will one day be our leaders, our writers, our doctors, and the parents of future generations to come. The documentary that we watched (link here) made me feel quite anxious about my future family, because it made me realize, again, the weight that comes with creating a family. It is not just to be able to see the cute little fingers and toes of newborns (though, let's face it, that is a huge plus), or one day hear a little voice call you “Mommy” or “Daddy.” It is that one day, my future children will be moms and dads (read: the biggest influence in anyone’s life) and I am going to be part of the process to help them become that influence.
What we do in our lives now affects generations. How we choose to live, when we choose to marry, who to marry, how many children we choose to have, how we choose to raise them, it is not only “our future,” it is the world’s future too.
Do we not always say that the children are the future? The children that we raise now will one day be our leaders, our writers, our doctors, and the parents of future generations to come. The documentary that we watched (link here) made me feel quite anxious about my future family, because it made me realize, again, the weight that comes with creating a family. It is not just to be able to see the cute little fingers and toes of newborns (though, let's face it, that is a huge plus), or one day hear a little voice call you “Mommy” or “Daddy.” It is that one day, my future children will be moms and dads (read: the biggest influence in anyone’s life) and I am going to be part of the process to help them become that influence.
What we do in our lives now affects generations. How we choose to live, when we choose to marry, who to marry, how many children we choose to have, how we choose to raise them, it is not only “our future,” it is the world’s future too.
