It is not material difficulties that restrain Germans in their desire to 'be fruitful and multiply,' believe experts at the Institute for Demography (BiB), who recently presented a monumental work 'Family and Demographic Turning Point' in Berlin, but rather psychological problems. Modern women prioritize their careers and even the first signs of pregnancy can throw them off balance. They are not willing to start climbing the career ladder several times in their lives. Men, meanwhile, universally fall into infantilism, fear responsibility, and delegate decision-making to their partners. Both choose freedom. And children mean lack of freedom and unrest, and the government is unable to achieve a radical shift in private and public consciousness. At least 'with new laws it will not be possible to boost the birth rate,' says BiB director Charlotte Höhn, 'too negative a view of the consequences of family life has become entrenched in the minds of several generations of Germans.'
The birth rate in Germany is the lowest in Europe; in 2005 it was 1.37 children per female. There is nothing new in this; the trend of declining reproduction has persisted since the 1970s. The news is different: demographers and sociologists have never before observed such a negative attitude among potential parents towards the very prospect of having a child. One in four men and one in seven women do not want to have children at all.
The 'theoretically acceptable' number of offspring is 1.59 on average per man and 1.75 per woman. The result of this situation could be not only a faster than expected aging of society, but also serious economic problems as early as the next decade – given that 22% of female residents of Germany born in 1955 are childless.
The cause of the demographic collapse, as stated, lies in the psychological sphere. 'Today, the first generation that itself grew up without siblings has reached childbearing age,' says Berlin psychologist Hans Bertram. 'For these people, reluctance to have a house full of children is normal. In small families, desires are small.' 'A century and a half ago, children were a necessary factor for survival,' recalls Michael Hüther, director of the German Institute for Economic Research (IW), and laments that 'European civilization has gone too far in ensuring a trouble-free old age' for citizens who are no longer concerned about the problem of 'who will bring a glass of water.' And then, of course, negative information promoted by the media discourages people from having offspring. Who would want to give birth, asks Charlotte Höhn, if the topic of parliamentary debates is formulated not as 'fullness and joy of life for young parents' but as 'problems of modern family policy,' and when, in breaks between broadcasting these very debates, the news frightens with reports of pedophiles roaming the country and scenes of teenage violence?
In their recommendations to the government, the authors of the report 'Family and Demographic Turning Point' focus on the need to 'fundamentally change stereotypes' so that 'having children ceases to be perceived as a factor of decline in the social hierarchy,' and repeatedly emphasize that only a small group of the population would view the issue of expanding the family differently if the state provided more money. This group consists of 'people with low educational attainment' and 'those who already had many children at the time of the study.' However, 'highly qualified, childless citizens, single mothers and fathers, and residents of the eastern states' do not particularly need handouts. Most people, researchers believe, will find the means to clothe and feed a child. They need something else – the proverbial freedom. Freedom in choosing work and place of residence, freedom in leisure activities and social connections. That is, so that it is not necessary, when expecting a child, to move to an area with a lower crime rate and more kindergartens. So that restaurants and theaters have children's corners, and so that city buses can accommodate more than two strollers at once.
The state cannot guarantee this to its citizens either in the near future or in the more distant future, despite another assurance from Ursula von der Leyen about the readiness of the ruling cabinet and her personal commitment to 'create for young people all opportunities to realize their desires and hopes, to lead a modern, fulfilling life with children.' Let's be frank, everyone has long figured out for themselves the value of the statements by the Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The promise to 'strongly influence German enterprises' so that they create departmental structures for the care of the younger generation, and the reminder of the upcoming 'parental allowance' starting in 2007 – that is perhaps all she can boast about. (Without a hint that the child care benefit for up to one year at 67% of net income from the last job was already approved by Gerhard Schröder's government, and without considering that serious manufacturing companies have long since solved the issue of nurseries and 'flexible' schedules for young parents on their own and in their own interests.)
And as for the fact that the financial issue does not play a major role – here the minister agrees wholeheartedly with sociologists and is ready to support the initiative of some state cabinets to reduce subsidies for abortions. Terminating a pregnancy is not only ignoble towards one's childless country, local politicians, traditionally led by representatives of the CDU/CSU, have decided, but also expensive. United in an effort to save Germany from extinction, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein decided to follow the example of Saxony and Thuringia, which had already declared the need for 'greater financial responsibility of pregnant women'. The law currently obliges the state to reimburse the needy for abortion costs – but it is time, say the state ministers for social affairs, to revise the income threshold of irresponsible mothers, namely to 'help destroy unborn life' not at a salary up to €962, as now, but only up to €662. And also to check the financial status of fathers more thoroughly. No joke – €250 million lost over the past five years and 120 thousand future citizens – in just 2005 alone. So, gentlemen, if you don't want to give birth – you will be punished with the euro-ruble. If you do – you will be thanked with a big human 'thank you' and praised for contributing to a psychological turnaround in a society where, as Charlotte Henn laments, 'procreation has become not the main task but one of the secondary options'.
By the way, about the turnaround. Ursula von der Leyen seriously expects a surge in birth rates in Germany no later than nine months from now, confident that the success of the German national team at the World Cup and the generally upbeat mood of the nation during the sports festival must certainly contribute to 'love and joy of life', which will lead to a demographic miracle. And the babies will be named exclusively Klinsmann and Lehmann. Apparently, she knows what she is talking about, the mother of seven children, ready to hear amid the noise of the stadiums 'the future melody of happiness that can only resound thanks to children'.
The results of the study 'Family and Demographic Turnaround' are based on a survey of 10,017 people (among them – 5,505 aged 20 to 49), conducted in 2005 by the German Institute of Demography and the Robert Bosch Foundation. According to them, 44% of childless people and only 23% of respondents with one child consider an 'improvement in quality of life' due to the appearance of a child possible. 46% and 65%, respectively, believe that 'no major changes will occur'. 10% expect a deterioration, and among parents of two or more children, that figure is 88%.
15% of childless people are ready to agree with the American notion that a child is a 'prestige factor'; among those with one child, that figure is 4%, and among those with two or more, 2%.
Only one in three respondents (of both sexes) agrees that a 'full life' for a woman is possible only with the presence of a child. As 'Russkaya Germaniya' notes, in 1990 twice as many German residents held this view.