Baby Boom!

[M.Dancer]

We have two kids and we've pondered having another but whereas my wife is young I am not and I tink it would be unfair to the youngest if I have to leave the old age home to see the whipper snapper graduate high school.....my fault entirely, I chose to be single and have fun chasing girls and being a free spirit......while I learned a loty about myself and women in thoise single childless years....I do wish I could have learned sooner and started having kids 10 years sooner......

Now apparently there is a baby boom in Quebec (and in Alberta) and part of the reason is the progressive approach to daycare, family leave and baby bonuses....which in turn fosters the CANDO attitude towards having a family......

Births jumped 9 per cent between 2005 and 2006, and 2007 is proving to be even more fecund, with almost 1,000 more births in April-June, 2007, than in the same period a year earlier.

Demographic experts say that while two years of growth is not enough time to establish a firm trend, it's probably more than a blip. Many point to Quebec's family-friendly social policies such as $7-a-day daycare and a more generous parental leave program. Quebec's is the only leave program in the country to insure the self-employed and to provide a separate paternity leave that does not eat into a mother's leave.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...lifeFamily/home

Germaine Greer said something to the effect that a measure of a society is how they respect families and children, and Churchill himself in this regard said:

There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies.

If we fret over declining birthrates in Canada, we should look at Quebec more closley.

[jdobbin]

There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies.

If we fret over declining birthrates in Canada, we should look at Quebec more closley.

Perhaps the Tories in Ottawa will look again at their failed policy on daycare. Quebec didn't get to where it is overnight. Their policies are directly related to the increase in childcare by the provincial government.

Alberta faces a different scenario. It has a younger population and a wealthier population where it is possible to have more children and have someone stay at home. The next challenge for that population might be how to to provide daycare as the children get older so that parents who do stay home in the initial stages are able to integrate back into the workplace. A baby boom lasts only as long as the family friendly policies exist in all stages of development of a child's life.

[RB]

A family-friendly society

In Germany family promotion is playing an increasingly important role and is correspondingly supported by the state. In order to encourage men and women to have more children again, as from 2007 there are plans to replace the current child-raising benefit with a means-tested parent’s benefit financed through taxes. Thus, for a period of one year one parent that interrupts his or her career in order to raise children will receive 67 percent of their last net income. At the same time there are plans to extend child care. Until now every child has had the legal right to a place at kindergarten from the age of three until they start school. All-day care is also to be extended even further. For children under the age of three as well there are plans for a further 230,000 crèche places by 2010. This is aimed at making it easier for mothers and fathers to combine working and raising a family.

Plus there are more benefits for child care.

Despite lots of folks believe that government should not support couples having children via means of tax breaks, incentives, etc.. With the low population growth, there need to be some intervention on the government part, and society friendly enough policies to encourage babies, while preventing undue hardship if a female decides to have kids. Tax incentives are likely lures as a financial burden is reduced when parents seem to need it most.

As a female I can say with conviction that if more baby incentives were likely, there are some definite chances for more kids.

Edited November 6, 2007 by RB

[White Doors]

tax incentives? yes! Longer EI sponsored maternity leaves? For sure!

a CUPE run daycare for all? - no friggin way!!

[M.Dancer]

a CUPE run daycare for all? - no friggin way!!

Agree....they go on strike too often....better ACTRA....when the wee ones act up