Spokane7
58°
July 13, 2009 in Features
Parents blog
Waiting to have kids
During the Great Depression, the U.S. fertility rate declined from about 3.5 to 2.3, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.
The same thing happened in the 1970s as Americans struggled with a recession and oil crisis.
With the current economic downturn, some couples are thinking twice before getting pregnant. Workers are losing their jobs, companies are cutting benefits, and the cost of raising a family is increasing.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2007 report titled “Expenditures on Children by Families,” families spent anywhere from $7,830 to as much as $17,500 a year on each child, depending on the child’s age and the family’s income level.
And if you think diapers, car seats, cribs and other nursery items are expensive, just wait. Parents actually spend more each year as children get older, the report shows.
What do you think? Should the economy affect childbearing?
Should couples planning to have a baby or more children reconsider, given the current financial crisis affecting many Americans?
Do you know any couples who are waiting until the economy gets better before having kids or getting pregnant again?
– Posted by Virginia de Leon
Join the discussion at The Spokesman- Review’s parents blog, “Are We There Yet?” at www.spokesman. com/blogs/ parents.
Nasty remarks from SIL irritating 
barbneuf on July 13 at 1:22 p.m.
My husband and I started trying for our second child last October. As the months progressed and the economy worrsened, we wondered if we should continue trying, or wait until the economy recovered. I’m now 4 months pregnant, so you can guess what we decided. We had always planned to have children close together in age. Also, I’m 35 and my husband is 37. After the first child, we knew we didn’t want to wait and just get older (and more tired). So, we decided to scale back on our expenditures and learn to live with less. I’m shopping at garage sales and plan to reuse most of the baby toys and gear from the first child. Nursing helps cut back on costs as well. Hopefully, the economy recovers before the second one is a toddler. If not, we will continue to live on a budget, scrimp and save.