Does anyone actually have kids because they’re abstractly concerned about globally declining birth rates? (As opposed to actually wanting kids)

Or even because their government offers big financial benefits for having kids as in Scandinavia etc?

I find I just don’t buy that this abstract prosocial concern meaningfully shapes behavior even when translated into “selfish” economic incentives. Kids seem like just too much work to have for any reason besides just wanting them.

I also don’t buy the theory that women sometimes get pregnant to force partners to marry them. Maybe in ultra rare cases.

These alt incentives can at best amplify or enable an existing desire for kids, not create it.

Blogger at ribbonfarm.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

No, they do not.

I feel like almost everyone knows if they want kids or not by the time they're teenagers. Something about your experience as a kid feeds directly into your choice to have your own or not. 

That desire then stays steady throughout the rest of your life.