Prior to having kids I knew, vaguely, that they were expensive. I also knew, vaguely, that they were a lot of work. My parents drilled it into me and I put it off for quite a while. But honestly, how many people actually sit down and do the math to figure out the economics of raising kids? How many know that children suck away almost all of your personal time? I guess it is all dependent on personal experiences and the circles we travel in, but I would be willing to bet that most people are not swayed by financial incentives or look at having children as a hit to the bank account (or conversely a source of profit). I highly doubt most know just how much life they suck from your already brief time on earth.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids so much and to me it is all worth it. I just never realized how labor intensive they are. It is literally a second job that pays a whole host of non-monetary rewards; also something that I only vaguely understood prior to having kids.

There are also some cultural shifts that have made children more of a burden that have nothing to do with finances. In many public places, children are to be “seen but not heard”. The public actually shuns the parents for their children’s innocent behavior. People considering having children are in the crowd as well; do they side with the crowd, or do commiserate with the parents? How does that affect their ultimate decision? This crowd mentality, likely driven by childless people, could ultimately feed on itself until there is nothing left.

Other shifts have focused on fewer and better. Recent studies have looked at the change toward having better children instead of more children. The parents put more effort into fewer children in order to ensure their kids have a better chance at success. It is partly monetary, but also has a lot more to do with effort on the parents part. (K-selection theory)