Reader’s Opinion | Women don’t get pregnant on their own, and you don’t just get children like that

Last There has been a lot of talk lately about what low birth rates are doing to our society. Who will pay our pensions, who will do the work in the future and defend our homeland? At the same time, the wage level in Finland has stagnated and taxation is tight, but the cost of living is skyrocketing, whether it’s housing, the price of food or other goods.

Many are also worried about the world situation, which is unstable due to wars, and the discussion culture is polarized. Many also have challenges in finding employment, and the demands of working life are getting tougher all the time.

There is in itself, it is absurd to ask why women do not give birth, because women do not conceive on their own. I consider the discussion about birth to be blaming women. At this point, the discussion could be turned to why young adults – including men – are not interested in mating or committing to a relationship. For many, however, this is a prerequisite for having a child.

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An atmosphere of blame does not encourage having children.

Modern online dating and social media have contributed to making it impossible to form a serious relationship. Finding a new and exciting person is always one click away, so why settle for one or the current one. However, the difficulty of finding a reliable and safe relationship is very often the reason why women delay having children. Why should a woman take a risk and have a child with an insecure person?

I often have these conversations with my female friends who are the same age, educated and smart. Many people say that the reason is that they can no longer find a suitable partner, or it comes as a surprise to men that a woman approaching 30 years of age wants a serious relationship and not a “situationship” or “friends with benefits” type of relationship.

Multi asks why we used to mate and have children while forgetting that in the past we were often content to be in bad relationships. Nowadays, we don’t settle for an unreliable partner, we prefer to be alone, and that’s a good thing. For many, having a child does not come before a safe and reliable relationship. There are enough children and young people in Finland who feel bad when things are unstable at home, for example.

Everyone should have the right to decide if they want children or not or in which relationship they want to live. A constant atmosphere of blame does not at least encourage having children.

Finally, one could say that children are not just acquired like that either. You get children if you are lucky.

Lotta Laaksonen

Helsinki

The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which are selected and delivered by the HS editors. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.