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A comment on Don't worry about global population collapse. Parent comment

Re:Don't worry about global population collapse by perrygeo on Sunday October 01, 2023 @10:58AM (#37726506)
This is something that child-free people fail to understand. It's not just about priorities and "scheduling time" to be a parent. That would be great but it's a fantasy. Reality is being on-call 24/7 to deal with the dozens of logistical problems that come up. It's not just the number of hours but their distribution across the day, the fact that you've got to coordinate 2 work schedules + n children's calendars, and the fact that parents largely don't have any control over the agenda.

Does this impact parent's earning potential? Absolutely. I cannot find a single day on my calendar where my wife and I had an solid block of 8 hours to focus on work. It just doesn't happen. Thankfully I have flexible work hours otherwise it would be literally impossible. As it stands, it's merely exhausting and unsustainable.

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Re:Don't worry about global population collapse by hyperbovine on Sunday October 01, 2023 @11:08AM (#37726630)
That has always been true in some form or fashion though, what you are describing is not a uniquely modern problem. To me the x-factor that makes child rearing especially challenging is lack of a support network. Mobility has made it routine to live hundreds or thousands of miles from your family in a way that did not happen before fairly recently. For most of us, our network consists only of other couples with young children who are all going through the same thing.
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Re:Don't worry about global population collapse by dalyons on Sunday October 01, 2023 @11:47AM (#37727016)
Also, the modern problem of both parents being forced to work. Previously one would stay home. The two income trap is real.
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Re:Don't worry about global population collapse by jen20 on Sunday October 01, 2023 @01:22PM (#37728181)
It's not a "trap" if it's the only way to buy a house and avoid falling into the renting "trap" instead...
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Re:Don't worry about global population collapse by dalyons on Monday October 02, 2023 @01:30PM (#37741540)
i think you should look up the phrase, because thats exactly what it refers to. That we need two full time incomes to afford a house is a new thing, and is the "trap" we have built for ourselves.
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