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Car Seats as Contraception

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Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#111

Post by Tade0 »

I believe it's a factor, but not the dominant one.

Me and my SO were considering a third for a brief moment, but it was the amount of living space and our age (35+ for the mother) that ultimately made us decide against it.

I was totally in for getting a new vehicle BTW.

Interestingly I have two siblings and we had a serious and expected downgrade as a family in living space just when I started attending grade school - a smaller apartment than mine currently.

As for the car seats the regulations came in when my younger sister was in 3rd grade or so, so he just decided to wing it without the seats.

Families of 5+ have very few options in terms of cars, among them the Peugeot 5008 - reviled both by reviewers and owners alike.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#112

Post by justonceokay »

fxtentacle wrote: post #101
mullingitover wrote: post #2

> We show that laws mandating use of child car safety seats significantly reduce birth rates, as many cars cannot fit three child seats in the back seat. Wouldn't the real cause of the depressed birthrates be the requirement to own a car in order to have children? If you aren't a slave to your vehicle there's no problem with the available space for car seats.

"Wouldn't the real cause of the depressed birthrates be the requirement to own a car in order to have children?" Yes. The one-time setup costs for "properly" raising kids are probably around $30k. All the kids stuff is extra expensive (in the west) and for the kids seats you need a large car (in the west) and there's social stigma against kids sharing a room (in the west), so you also need a larger apartment.

Kid stuff is free if your time is worth nothing. There’s always another child outgrowing their car seats and toys and clothes and cribs and games.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#113

Post by alsetmusic »

orthoxerox wrote: post #51
Earw0rm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, socially conservative, multi-generational households (sharing labour and childcare between women relatives), less expectation for mothers of young kids to be away from the home, and a much lower expectation of what "housing" means in terms of both building quality and the amount of living space per person.

Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home?

> Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home?

Where in the USA do you live where I can support my wife and kids on one income? We'll move immediately.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#114

Post by alsetmusic »

tialaramex wrote: post #94
xboxnolifes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A __3-bedroom apartment__ is considered very tight for raising kids? How many bedrooms do you need to raise kids?

If you make kids share a bedroom it drastically decreases the margin for tension between children because they don't have anywhere else. That can work, of course, but it might not and too fucking late for the kids if it doesn't. That can mean physical abuse, but it can mean things like one kid loves loud music and the other wants to read quietly alone, or their sleep schedules naturally don't align well - if you were…

Some friends were able to provide separate bedrooms to their sons last year. The older one already has a man-shaped face and body (still an adolescent voice and personality, but that's sometimes how that goes). I really couldn't believe it when I found out.

I grew up privileged and had my own space, but a shared space between siblings was normalized. But going into high school with that constraint, it seems stifling. I really have to wonder what effects that lack of privacy / autonomy has on a developing mind. There are probably studies but it's not something I'm about to research.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#115

Post by em-bee »

tialaramex wrote: post #94
xboxnolifes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A __3-bedroom apartment__ is considered very tight for raising kids? How many bedrooms do you need to raise kids?

If you make kids share a bedroom it drastically decreases the margin for tension between children because they don't have anywhere else. That can work, of course, but it might not and too fucking late for the kids if it doesn't. That can mean physical abuse, but it can mean things like one kid loves loud music and the other wants to read quietly alone, or their sleep schedules naturally don't align well - if you were…

sharing a room forces kids to learn to get along. giving them their own room early deprives them from that experience. loud music is not going to work in many places even if you have your own room. if siblings are so incompatible that they can't bear living together than they have bigger problems than sharing a room. physical abuse among siblings points to deeper issues that are not caused by sharing a room, nor does having separate rooms fix those issues.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#116

Post by fnands »

fxtentacle wrote: post #102

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993. [1] That year, fertility was at 1.28 kids per woman. Since then, it has increased to 1.62. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/ger...

Could be as if you live in a city in Germany you don't necessarily need a car?

But I would be surprised if car seats are the main driver here in any case.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#117

Post by em-bee »

decafninja wrote: post #90

My wife and I are DINKs. We drive a smallish CUV. Her cousin drove it, fell in love, and bought the same car. It’s really a perfect allrounder - looks nice, is luxurious, more than enough space for us, even drives like a sports car (or at least as close to a CUV can hope to). Then said cousin had a baby. People around him scolded him for not selling the car for something much bigger - like a Kia Telluride or a Honda…

People around him scolded him

that's one of the bigger problems in todays society. people acting like they know better and judging others for doing things differently.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#118

Post by orthoxerox »

alsetmusic wrote: post #113
orthoxerox wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home?

> Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home? Where in the USA do you live where I can support my wife and kids on one income? We'll move immediately.

Ask single mothers.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#120

Post by [deleted] »

fxtentacle wrote: post #102

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993. [1] That year, fertility was at 1.28 kids per woman. Since then, it has increased to 1.62. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/ger...

[deleted]
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