Western societies are known for low birthrates. While a couple of generations back, couples often had four or more children, the average today hovers around one or two. Having fewer children may require additional help from outside the immediate family and slower developmental growth for their youngest additions, though the trend could be reversed by changing how families are represented.
When parents have fewer children, the need for support from outside the nuclear family increases while development tends to slow. For working parents, a younger only-child may require another guardian from extended family, a friend of the parents’, or even daycare. This can be a burden in terms of others’ time and energy, or a family’s finances in the latter case. An older sibling, however, could instead handle babysitting responsibilities. Additionally, younger siblings often model older brothers and sisters. Younger children often learn to walk faster, talk faster, and achieve other milestones more quickly in these situations. While certainly not the end of the world if a child grows up alone, parents eager to get past some of the early hurdles may wish for such an example.
To encourage parents to have more kids would firstly require changing how families are represented in the media. People’s attitudes are influenced very much by indirect messages, even from the shows they watch. For example, if the families they stream on screen usually consist of one or two children, it could be associated as the norm. As in the case of the youngest internalizing the behavior of their older siblings, surrounding viewers with larger model families could potentially increase the amount of kids they consider as standard.
In conclusion, many families today stop at one or two children, but need additional support. Additionally, their kids may not develop as quickly in certain areas. By incorporating larger families in the media, however, the trend could be reversed.