(The Walrus) – Time, relationships, identity, and, yes, finances: for a few years, a child’s arrival can upend anyone’s world. But between the housing crisis, an underperforming child care system, soaring food costs, and a status-driven culture that encourages top-of-the-line purchases, from strollers to high chairs, parenthood now comes with a hefty price tag. It’s pitting a generation of Canadians against considerations that were not so prevalent even twenty years ago. The result is smaller and fewer families among people who might have pictured their lives with more than one child, or any children at all. And while dropping fertility rates aren’t driven by affordability alone, a society’s ability to actualize fertility plans for the children people do want matters. If its current generation doesn’t see a future where they can house, feed, or care for the next one, it’s in trouble—on an economic and existential level. (Read More)