Has The Recession Put You Off Having More Kids?

Yesterday my friend told me that though she would love to have another baby, she and her husband have decided not to based on the fact they can barely get by on their earnings with one child. Plus she added, she worries that if she has another she won’t be able to help her children in the future. I feel for her as it was something I also thought about before (during and after) baby number 2. So I am not surprised to hear that the effects of the recession and yesterday’s depressing statement from George Osborne have guided many people’s decisions about whether or not they will have more kids. This can clearly be seen in the U.S. where the fertility rate has plunged. What’s more a report in the Huffington Post, also found a significant percentage of men and women in their prime baby-making years said that the economy has directly influenced when and if and when they will have babies. Surprisingly this hasn’t happened yet in the UK  where we’re currently having the biggest baby boom for 40 years (700,000 births in England this year alone), though it hasn’t stopped most parents worrying how they’re going to afford to cope with rising bills and stagnant wages. Other anxieties that most of us go through includes everything from how to feed our growing families to future fears on the cost of childcare, education, housing and the job market. So has the recession and all the economic gloom put you off having more kids? Are you worried about your family’s financial future? Let us know your thoughts.