"The tone varies, but that is the general message we have grown up with. Of course, the financial inability to have children is a strong and valid argument, and probably the more rational one. But when you have been conditioned to believe that the very idea of a viable future is limited, deeper and more emotional concerns come into play."
"Imagine receiving such a letter just after having a miscarriage, or after a breakup with a long-term partner, or worse, if you know you can't have children. My daughter was born in Sweden, where they had more than a year's maternity leave to be shared between parents, and subsidised childcare. Standard maternity leave in France is still four months. One of my friends had a breakdown when she had to go back to work and leave her three-month-old baby with a childminder."
France mailed reminders to 29-year-olds urging them to have children. A 24-year-old man says leaders misunderstand his generation, noting sustained messages that the world is ending have produced deep environmental anxiety. Financial inability to raise children is a strong rational barrier, while beliefs about an uncertain future create emotional reluctance. One correspondent warns that such letters can be cruel after miscarriage, breakup, or infertility, and contrasts Sweden’s longer, shared parental leave and subsidised childcare with France’s standard four months. Another correspondent emphasizes the emotional cost of delayed conception and notes an NHS gynaecologist who informs pupils about fertility limits.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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