300 Million Americans

Are we there yet? According to some the U.S. population hit the 300 million mark awhile ago. Others say it just happened.

Regardless, when people question your decision not to have kids, you can point to this statistic and explain that it seems like Americans are doing a good enough job popping them out without your help. [LINK]

Admitted member of the "motherhood mafia" goes to No Kidding!

Savannah Morning News columnist Anne Hart attends a local meeting of No Kidding! and comes away with some impressive insights:

I went to gain insight into why the child-free choose their lifestyle. And to find out how those of us suffering from ''placenta brain'' - a disease identified by a woman's inability to talk about anything but her pregnancy, nursery and the little genius she's carrying - can step outside our obsessions and learn from the child-free.

Those of us in the motherhood mafia, or on the verge of being inducted, need to stop trying to persuade non-parents over to our side of the playground. Life is not, after all, a big Red Rover game. Not only should we accept their decision, but also encourage them to talk about their choice, if they're feeling chatty.

[LINK]

Want more childfree neighbors? Try Maine.

The state of Maine is seeing a big decline in it's under-18 population, according to recent Census Bureau figures:

By 2010, Maine will be the state with the lowest percentage of people under age 18. That will hold true through 2030, according to census projections. By that time, just 18 percent of Maine’s population will be minors, down from roughly 24 percent in 2000.

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The states with the highest birth rates? According to BabyCenter.com:

As of 2003, the states with the highest birth rates are mostly west of the Mississippi: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, and Utah — with Georgia being the lone high-birth-rate state on the other side of the divide. Utah continues to beat every other state in the Union, with about 21 babies born for every 1,000 people.

[LINK]

Interesting. Maybe this will become like the new blue state/red state. Baby state/childfree state. One's overrun with playgrounds and Happy Meals, the other vineyards and bookstores. Love it.

Money is the biggest reason people delay having kids

From an article in Wednesday's Guardian:

The study, carried out by the Future Foundation into the reasons why Britain's birth rate has tumbled since the end of the 1960s baby boom, found financial pressures were the greatest inhibition.

It found that two-thirds of a sample of childless adults under the age of 45 said they were delaying having children until they could save enough to afford them. Half were postponing having a family until they could move to a bigger home.

[LINK]

New kidless couple enter the geopolitical stage

Japan's new prime minister and his wife are childfree. The first lady also "loves her drink, is passionate about soap operas, dances flamenco and once worked as a radio disc jockey." Seems like a good fit for a country with one of the world's lowest birth rates. Rock on, Japan.
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