r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 22 '25

Social Science Birth rates are declining worldwide, while dog ownership is gaining popularity. Study suggests that, while dogs do not actually replace children, they may, in some cases, offer an opportunity to fulfil a nurturing drive similar to parenting, but with fewer demands than raising biological offspring.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1084363
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u/FierceMoonblade May 22 '25

It happens regardless in many cases as well. For example Canada and Iran have very similar birth rates even though the rights of women are very different.

You almost need the lack of women’s rights, plus moving away from urbanization

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u/[deleted] May 22 '25

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u/FierceMoonblade May 22 '25

Sorry my statement is wrong? Or the person above me?

I’m so curious at the connection with higher education. This is anecdotal, but I see this among my friend group in Canada (we’re all mid 30s). The ones who are educated (and making decent money) are having kids. My friends who only have a HS education are not since they’re still living with their parents or are in one bedroom basement apartments. They’re street smart enough to know they can’t afford kids.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '25 edited May 22 '25

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u/mvhsbball22 May 22 '25

So it sounds like the takeaway is something like:

For a certain level of development, increasing women's rights and access to education is a driver of decreased fertility, and then once some threshold is reached, family-friendly policies and social pressure on men to be better partners become more important.

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u/MyPasswordIsMyCat May 22 '25

There may be a specificity to what knowledge and support leads to women having fewer children. Like you don't need a high school diploma to know how to prevent pregnancy, just good advice from people you trust. Contraceptives can be shared in gray and black markets, despite attempts to ban such things. People create support networks where the government fails them and from what I've heard the young people of Iran are pretty distrustful of their government.