Is Total Fertility Rate a Problem?

The Total Fertility Rate is 2.1 children per woman. This rate simply means the number of children a woman needs to give birth to for the population to slowly replace itself. This number is slightly above two because it takes in consideration also the cases of maternal and child mortality. This number is therefore higher in developing countries where tragedies like these are more common. 

Why, in the United States of America, and in most of the most developed countries of the world the number of babies born is diminishing every year? And why would a low number of births affect negatively the country we live in? What can we do to, not only have children, but also have children that will be actively contributing to our society? Today we are going to discuss these intertwined topics. 

First of all, a low fertility rate can be viewed as negative because the population will slowly become older and that will impact negatively the economy of the country. At first citizens will have to work until later ages but eventually a population like this is not sustainable. Many people though, think that this is not really a problem as the real problems are overpopulation and climatic change and the fewer babies born is only a fact we should live with and not really an issue we should try to fix. 

I am Italian, and Italy is the second country in the world, after Japan, with the highest percentage of people over 65 years old in the country. This is affecting the economy as health care is free and usually elderly people are the ones that use this service the most. Of course, the public expenses are very high because of all the pensions that the government pays. Not only in Italy, but in all the world, this is an important concern and responsibility the citizens have. 

In the past years in the US this issue was overlooked as the low birth rate was balanced with the great amount of people constantly immigrating the state and by the high birth rate of these families of foreigners. Now this numbers are not enough. 

These low numbers are not a surprise as they are decreasing year after year since 2008 (except 2014). Even in the 1800s, the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints prophesied that "the time would come that none but the women of the Latter-day Saints would be willing to bear children." 

Even if we are not yet at this point, we can see how children bearing is seen more as a burden than a privilege. 

One of the reasons women are having less children is a shift of value in society. People are giving more importance to career and are delaying or completely setting aside things like marriage and having children. Now success is not to have a happy family but to have money. People delay marriage and children also because they fear commitment, divorce or maybe because they had a disappointing example in the relationship of their own parents. 

The solution is simple but not easy to follow. Women should have at least 2 children. Men should support their wives and their families. Not only we should have children, but we should provide them with a safe environment of learning and love. Studies show that the best environment to raise children is in a family of a man and a woman legally and lawfully wedded that love and care for each other. Unfortunately, children in families with divorced parents, single parents, LGTQ+ single or married parents, are statistically more inclined to the use drugs, to be arrested and convicted, unemployed, depressed and overall tend to have a more difficult life. All these factors could be avoided as we become more responsible.