[almatabata]

> I think the expense aspect doesn't dig deep enough.

Agreed, a lot of Nordic countries provide more support to families with children yet they have very similar numbers to countries with worse support. The monetary aspect obviously plays a factor but it cannot explain everything. If you want to change the trend you will have to look at other additional factors as well. Not all factors have the same weight but they all feed into the same trend.

The different narratives around "why would you bring children into this horrible world?" also have an effect. It does not matter that they live better lives than people did in the 13th century. Their reality tunnel will latch onto anything negative to justify why they cannot have kids until things get better. And because they always focus on the negative they will never notice if things improved at all. Things will always look too bleak for them.

It sadly also remains a reality that if a woman gets kids her career will take a hit. This pushes women who care about their careers to delay having children sometimes too long.

The economical factor has easier answers I guess than the other more intangible aspects.