I just don't believe we are getting low on kids. Go to any Walmart during the day. They are full of pregnant women , with usually one or two in the baskets.
Well, I guess the numbers don't lie, but I see things the way you do. Also I see many large families where I live (an exburb) and I see the stay-at-home mom has become a status symbol---means the husband makes LOTS of money.
I do think many women who are now in their 40's were fed a line that they could have it all, including postponing childbearing pretty much indefinitely. The day came they wanted kids, but found out--oh really--fertility does start to decline with the years.
"I just don't believe we are getting low on kids. Go to any Walmart during the day. They are full of pregnant women , with usually one or two in the baskets."
What you're seeing is a subsection of the population. Wal-Mart has very low prices and thus tends to attract families of relatively modest means. A lot of people, myself included, don't shop at Wal-Mart much.
Also keep in mind that for the population to remain stable, not even to increase, each couple needs to have at least two children on average.
No wonder the libs hate Wal-Mart! I didn't know they had pregnant women on sale! ;-P
"I just don't believe we are getting low on kids."
You right about that. Everyone I work with but me had the obligatory 2.5 kids during the 1980s and 1990s. I felt no responsibility to increase the population.