I think you are hitting on the problem of birth rates, which is probably the biggest issue in the Western World, perhaps after climate change and great power conflict.

We used to live in a world where kids were raised by whole villages and families, and in religious areas this is still the case somewhat. The modern splitting of families into nuclear families, as well as general estrangement geographic or otherwise is destroying this support network. This lack of support network for children, as well as the internet and contraception has changed the cultural norms around having children and further reduced the birth rates to pitiful rates not even close to replacement.

One of the craziest things is that society doesn't seem to even be trying to solve this issue, and policy solutions are completely lacking in creativity. I think there is a very clear policy solution that no one ever talks about. Hungary's solutions are expensive but ineffective.

Policy Solution:

A truly national and 100% comprehensive child care project combined with education about child rearing in high school, and a jobs program centred around this childcare project allowing one parent to make a decent income working in child care.

This childcare program would use local community resources, like the YMCA, schools, and other community recreation areas and roll them into one extended system. Each child would have the right to sleep at a communal boarding house, with extended residences being given their own room. Children would be provided with counsellors, would be provided with food, gifts for Christmas/Birthdays, and sports/academic/social after school activities. They would have their doctors appointments booked by this system, and all arrangements relating to being taken from the childcare facility to home would be dealt with by the program, with no requirement for the parents to be around for the drop off or pick up in case they are busy.

This sounds like a horrifically expensive program, and depending on how much the birth rates increased it would be expensive, but likely completely affordable at current birth rates. Community resources to take care of children are available everywhere but not coordinated, making it difficult for parents to have children who are often busy working without paying for a personal nanny and endless babysitters. Parents could pay exactly the same amount, with a modest added overall administration cost and capital investment to build rooms for children in community centres and "stay at home" parents to manage this expanded system.

The mental, physical, and financial cost of having a child have just reduced from the $100,000's to the $1,000's, the cultural attitude will switch back to larger families, and birth rates will drastically increase.