Motherhood Social Media and Updates

Cities Lose Kids because Families Become Invisible; Make Them Visible

My theory (and solution) on the fertility "crisis" has been consistent for years: Young people move to the The City for school, opportunity, adventure etc. But they are reaching the (not unreasonable) conclusion that having kids means moving away. So they delay. This is *partly* due to the cost of family housing, childcare + education ... but the primary driver has become social or cultural: they just DO NOT SEE families around them. This becomes a self reinforcing downward loop. Fewer kids means reduced services for families: schools close, fewer high chairs and kid's menus in restaurants etc. This is exacerbated by the higher costs the cities impose on childcare and the ~monopoly they have on schools and enforcement of disorder. It's an incredibly difficult cycle to reverse and the only practical solution is an incremental one: make it easier for very young families to decide to stay. Appeal to the people who ALREADY love the City to make it their home when they have their first child. This starts by building housing designed FOR families, but also in improving safety, public education, local elementary schools etc. And slowly by adding more babies and toddlers, we make it more socially customary for places to be child friendly. Families who have lived in neighborhoods for years decide to send their kids to the local schools with their friends. And then hopefully as more of these pioneer families grow and flourish, the younger people around them see this and think: "Well if they are making it work ... then I guess I could too."