Kevin Tarr wrote:
>
> At 12:20 PM 6/30/2003 +1000, you wrote:
> >iaamoac wrote:
> >
> >>--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Gautam Mukunda <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >>>Well, it fell below replacement level only recently,
> >>>but it started falling a long time ago.
> >>Secularism, however, is not nearly as pro-family. In particular, a
> >>hallmark of secularism is individualism - i.e. where one's one good is of
> >>primary importance. Children are often thought (pre-
> >>parenthood) to be an obstacle to one's own happiness.
> >I wonder if the financial cost of raising a family of >2 kids is more in
> >Europe than in the US? As much as housing costs have increased in the US,
> >there has been comparable increases in the size of the average family
> >home. In European cities, accomodation/shelter costs alone may be a
> >stumbling block to many potential parents. In the past, it may have been
> >acceptable to stay in the family home, but now every family unit wants
> >their own housing, with 2.5 TVs, dishwasher and second car. The realtering
> >of lifestyle is a big inhibition to many, but if extra costs are added
> >above what US couples face, it may convince more couples to skip children,
> >limit children to 1 or 2, or delay having children until too late.
> >
> >Cheers
> >Russell C.
> >who knows nothing about housing conditions in Southern Europe beyond what
> >he sees on TV...
>
> What do you mean by realtering of lifestyle?
>
> It seems to me once you have a boy and a girl, the costs don't go up anymore.
I'm not quite sure what you mean -- if you mean that having more
children after 1 boy and 1 girl doesn't increase your costs, you're
wrong. Talk to someone with 2 kids about their grocery bill for a week,
and then talk to someone with 4 kids about their grocery bill. Shoes
don't last forever to be handed down. If you have more kids, you need a
bigger (and probably more expensive) vehicle to get them around in.
Gone are the days when you could pile 4 kids in elementary school into
the back of a VW Bug (and those were fun, weren't they? at least, as
long as you didn't become a statistic).
If you're just talking about shelter costs, it can still be tight. Say
you have a 3-bedroom house and 4 kids. If you've got 4 of one gender,
or 2 and 2, room-sharing isn't that big a deal, but if it's a 1 and 3
gender split, you may have a problem.
I know housing is expensive in NYC. Having 3 kids to house in NYC isn't
terribly easy, at least that's the impression I've gotten from
conversations with Dan's cousin and his wife who live in NYC and who
have 3 kids. If it's anything like that in Europe, I can see how
smaller family size could result.
Julia
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