Seven Powerful Reasons More Michiganders Don’t Want to Have Kids

Michigan is not unique when it comes to the age-old question most parents and grandparents ask the younger folks in their families... "When 'ya havin' kids?" "Shouldn't you be startin' a family? 'Yer gettin' up there."

Well, a new study by PLOS ONE, as reported by Lansing, Michigan's News Channel 3, has an interesting insight into Michigander child-bearing desire... or lack thereof. It seems like there might be more to the reasoning, though.

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Why don't younger Michiganders want to have children?

It seems like a popular, simple answer:

The study suggests that most often, people in their teens and twenties do not want children, and many women who are near 30 have decided not to have children.

Reported reasons people are choosing not to have children.

The overall population of Michigan is just over 10 million people. The above report mentions 1.7 million people don't want kids, but why?  These are the most common reasons around Michigan & the United States:

• According to the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) three in 10 young adults (18-41 Gen Z and Millennials) say personal financial situation,
  • As of 2022, it's over $300,000 to raise a child from birth to 18 years old.
• Work/life balance,
• Followed by "maintaining my personal independence."(42% of women said that, by the way. There are more women than men in Michigan, too.)
• Fewer people are getting married.
• Cultural changes (sometimes driven by economics or a pandemic)
• Fortune reports Millennials & Gen Z also site social and biological reasons... causing a major slow down for US population growth.

So, there you have it... the researched reasons people don't want to have kids. Not all people, but a growing number. Each person is entitled to their own opinion, of course.

Could there be another reason people don't want to have kids?

• Unpopular opinion: It's probably worth waiting to have children until the current population of the US realizes all of the "batsh*t craziness" in our society is caused by an insane, yet wildly effective, political marketing (hack) job. People marketing politics hoping for us to hate each other as much as possible... turn our brains off to common sense, decency, our own educated opinions, experiences and factual truth... when absolutely nothing has changed, but the manipulative "marketing message."
• That's how you divide and conquer. So, why would our own elected representation want to "divide and conquer" us by using a "marketing message" to cause our society -- that historically, used to proudly, openly love, support and defend each other (our neighbors, strangers and even relatives) regardless of our backgrounds--to hate each other? That's the question.

I know, those are heavy thoughts. Despite my opinion, I'm hopeful Gen Z and Millennials can literally channel their collective desire for more freedom and independence to run for office -- leading us back to hearing each other to arrive at compromise. For those willing to have children, I hope the proverbial village that helps to raise them is able to make them the best humans they can be.

Feel good vibes, below... I promise: