In some countries men and women are having babies late in life. What are the reasons? Is it a positive or negative development?
负面影响为主
Men and women tend to start parenting late in life these days due to various reasons. I think this development is negative to a large extent despite some positive impacts.
One of the most prominent reasons is the high cost of raising a child. In order to provide a well-rounded education to a child these days, the spending never ends. The money spent on general education and medicine may be just a small part as other costs, such as fees for attending extracurricular activities, academic tutoring as well as overseas travel expenses, will quickly add up. Due to such heavy financial pressure, it is understandable that a number of couples choose to wait till middle age.
In addition, some women seek more education to establish themselves in jobs and careers. They simply expect to be financially independent before having their children, which is a clear incentive for delaying.
Although late childbirth can slow down the growth of population and enable parents to create a better living condition for their offspring, this phenomenon has negative impacts in many aspects. A direct influence is the increase of aging population which may lead to a shortage of workforce.
Furthermore, the financial burden of taking care of the elderly will become a problem for both the government and young adults. From the perspective of health and safety, women may suffer from high-risk pregnancy if they choose to have a child in their 40s or at an older age.
In conclusion, financial factors mainly contribute to older parenthood. This trend will bring more negative influences to societies in the long run.