jad n rich

This is very good long term news for australia, but sounds crazy :scared: the birth rate, is up 20% mainly among young mums, reason the baby bonus, call me sceptical but having raised 3 and spending around $67,000 after tax dollars a year to do so I reckon having a baby for $4000 (it went up) is nuts!


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...E28737,00.html

Shellfish

Madness, isn't it.

There was talk of giving the money to the women mid-pregnancy as an incentive to stop abortions which is lunacy to me, unless the intent is to encourage women who are contemplating abortion to rather choose adoption.

As far as I know, it's still $3000 until July next year.

Larissa

There's no way people under 30 are "young mothers". They need to take a peek in any UK housing estate to see that. I'll be 31 when my 3rd and final is due, I've owned a house since I was 19, completed uni and worked... I felt the article was OTT, perhaps if they quoted 17/18 year olds than the remarks would have more meaning. I bet there are huge numbers of us on the boards who have had children in our 20s and aren't sponging off the government.

Del Boy

Agreed, but it does provide the battlers, ferals and single mums with the opportunity to keep the electrical goods market expanding. How else will they afford a plasma tv, for example?

brisnick

excuse me for asking, but what do you have to do to own a house at 19 and go to uni? i had no money when i went to uni, so how someone can buy a house is beyond me!!

Larissa

Lots of juggling and a private mortgage, plus a hubby who helped out. I bought my house for £35,000 back then, 10 years ago things in the housing sector were totally different. We needed to refinance the mortgage for keeping us going through uni, otherwise we'd have made a packet. Guess we just bought at the right time- plus, at that time you only needed a steady income stream for 3 months plus a guarantor... which was just a formality. You wouldn't believe how easy it was to buy a house back then.

Anyway, there are lots of other mums my age - one friend supported her hubby through uni, he now has the engineering job while she raises their 3 kids, which she had all under the age of 30.

hawk2005

You could import some ethnic minorities to raise the birthrate like they do in the UK, but isnt the absence of uncontrolled third world immigration a big selling point for Oz

glittababe

They will regret doing this (government that is.....and possibly the mums). Look at whats happened in the UK, we have the highest percentage of school age/young mum's in the world and its a huge burden on our socioeconomic status. A lot of people will resent paying 40% tax to support scheme!

Bella Donna

"...You can speculate for hours on why women have children," he says. "It's one of those things that is so private, but you do get the feeling that forgoing worldly ambition for the sake of having kids is gradually coming into favour."

What planet is this guy on? I wonder how many mothers actually get to stay home and raise these kids? Whether they're going *back to work* to pay the bills or *back to a career* so they can follow their *worldly ambition*, the vast majority will put their kids in daycare and be back at the grindstone by the time the babe is six months old.....

Yeah, there's no cynic like an old cynic...

Sue

banjo

you're right. We got married at 23 and were feeling a bit left behind as our friends had all been married a year or two already. Both our children were had during our 20's and we've not sponged off either the UK or OZ government.

NIGENABBY

Hi

Just a comment on the age thing.

I had my first child in the UK (Medway) when I was 31. My sister had her first in Melbourne, aged 32.

I was told - for the hospital I was in anyway - that I was a very told first time mother. My sister at a year older in Aus was told she was young!

So maybe it is a perception thing, Australians are (perhaps) waiting alot longer to have their children, so under 30 is now considered young.

Regards

Bella Donna

Well, I'm definitely an *old* mother. I had my girl at 42 after a string of miscarriages. Guess some of us just can't cut it any earlier. Had a fantastic pregnancy and wonderful birth. Can't ask for more...

Sue

Siren & Brian

Personnally I am seeing it alot more that mothers are making the choice to stay home and be with the kids. Yes some "have" to go and work to pay the bills.

This work thing is soooooo over rated.