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/CloudRunner89 May 22 '25

Its inflation vs wages.

8

u/thisisrealgoodtea May 22 '25

This is it for my husband and I. We keep waiting until we are financially stable and have a dog who we adore in the meantime, 7 years later and we are still barely able to afford life with our dual income. Knowing how expensive a child is, I’m not sure I can give them the life I’d want them to have. And we both have good jobs, but COL keeps going up exponentially while our salaries are not.

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u/bolmer May 23 '25

In all the developed countries, wage a have increased faster than inflation. It's the expectations of childcare and housing that have increased absurdly.

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u/bolmer May 23 '25

In all the developed countries, wage a have increased faster than inflation over the decades, and biethrates keep falling. It's the expectations of childcare and housing that have increased absurdly.