Inflation has caused some to think twice about having children and say, "It doesn't make sense."
Due to the high cost of living in Canada, raising children — or even choosing to have children — can be daunting.
After giving birth to her first child last August, 24-year-old Autumn Oliver-Giasson decided to delay having more children until Canada's high cost of living eased.
"It's unlikely. It doesn't make sense. ”
According to a 2021 report by Statistics Canada, fertility rates in Canada have been steadily declining since 2008.
"It does make it very difficult"
Oliver-Giasson said she and her husband are "struggling with prices" while caring for their son.
With a shortage of child care, Oliver-Giasson wasn't sure if she would actually be able to return to full-time work after her vacation ended.
"I don't even know if I'll be able to go back to work before (my son) turns two, because no one is going to take him (now)."
"Unless we make ridiculously high money, or inflation falls, or the shortage of childcare changes dramatically, we won't have children again."
To help cover some of the costs of current inflation while on maternity leave, Oliver-Giasson has even begun babysitting other children.
"I know what it's like to be stressed and have no choice, so I wanted to help some moms while I'm at home. It helps us deal with the cost of inflation. ”
Julia Chang, CEO and senior financial planner at Spring Planning, said that as the statistics show, financial pressures and losses from the COVID-19 pandemic have been "deterrents" for people considering whether to have children.
"It's a shift in our expectations for family life."
When considering the economic costs of having a child, it is necessary to plan and react flexibly to changes.
"It's up to you, what's important to you and that kid, and you need to ask yourself some questions: What do I want it to look like? What does it matter?"
"You do have to design this, even if it feels really desperate."
"Really expensive":
Emily Pigeau, 27, lives with her husband in Grande Prairie in Alta province. They had their first child last May.
"We didn't plan to have children at the time, but it happened."
Now, taking time off as a small equipment operator, the bills often fall on her truck driver husband.
"Three years ago, a grocery store would cost about $50 a week. Now, we are looking for $150 CAD. It's a huge leap forward, and we don't eat much fresh vegetables. We usually do frozen stuff because it's cheaper to buy. If it takes more than three or four things to throw it into one pot, it becomes very expensive. ”
"It all happens in the financial planning process."
Pigeau and her family have now stopped future family planning.
"We just want to build more financial buffers."
Jessica Blize, 32, of Beaumont, Alberta, recently ended the first trimester of her second pregnancy, and she and her husband cut subscription fees and budgets and even resumed growing vegetables in their backyard to help keep costs down.
"It's really stressful and I have to think about my family."
Blize first became a mother last February and was unable to breastfeed her newborn amid a national milk powder shortage.
"Once we started a brand that we felt we could afford every week, they stopped producing it, along with all the other affordable formula. Due to supply and demand, some brands that remain on the shelves have risen to around $90 per can, and when your newborn eats five, six, seven times a day and then in the evening. "
Rona Birenbaum, founder of financial planning and wealth management firm Caring for Clients, says there is a way to determine if you are financially ready to have children.
"Planning leaders are key. Although most of life is unpredictable, some things used to be predictable by some financial models. These numbers illustrate what is affordable and what is not. ”
Canada experienced its lowest number of births since 2006 in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this trend in 2020.
However, when considering having children, it's important to recognize "the ripple effect of a single decision," Birenbaum warns. This time, Blize's pregnancy was unexpected, and she hopes to see the price drop.
With inflation in Canada running for decades, some people put the decision to have children aside.
"We actually expected to wait a little longer to see if we could offset the financial impact, but God has His way," she said. ”
"When you become a parent, your biggest concern is to make sure your child has his needs, so my biggest advice is to accept help or ask for help and don't be shy."
Blize, who will complete her family with this last child, says not only is it hard to get pregnant: "Kids are expensive, and they get more expensive as they get older".
"Some expenses sometimes unexpectedly weigh on parents. For example, get your child to start playing hockey. Any parent who wants to encourage this talent will pay a lot in the future. Think about how expenses are likely to increase. ”
I wonder what everyone thinks?
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