2.1 children per woman: Orbán wants more births
The new government in Hungary wants to raise the birth rate from the current level of 1.5 children per woman to 2.1 children. According to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this birth rate is necessary to prevent further decline of the country's population. He hopes to achieve this through financial support and by building more daycare facilities. What does Hungary's press think of the plans?
As if Tinder users can't become parents
It is not true that today's young generation is too selfish and irresponsible to have children, writes hvg in reaction to educationalist Zsófia Horváth's commentary in Origo:
“As if Tinder users couldn't become parents! As if you couldn't eat avocado on toast any more when you have children! And of course, it's either kids or parties, because parents aren't allowed to have fun! The frameworks are too tight for all parents and citizens of child-bearing age to fit in. Having children takes courage and a sense of responsibility, writes the author, but that doesn't mean that people who decide not to have children are irresponsible and cowardly. Pointing a finger at people and trying to make them look bad certainly isn't the way to increase the birth rate.”
Be a man and make your wife a mother!
The Catholic blog Reposzt calls on men to pluck up more courage to found their own families, quoting the Franciscan monk Csaba Böjte:
“'The birth of your child makes you a man. Without a child you are just a half-finished torso, an unfinished sketch! Is that what you want? Do you want to live your life as an old, selfish bachelor? Or in the best of cases, as a grandfather to your own child? What are you waiting for? I urge you to sweep your fears aside, to dare to choose life. Dare to appear before your loved one and ask for her hand in marriage. Be a man, make your wife a mother and yourself a happy father: a tree bearing precious fruits!'”
Founding a family is true rebellion
It would be good if the Tinder generation finally took on some responsibilities, writes educationalist Zsófia Horváth on the pro-government website Origo:
“It is rebelling against traditional values - but this attitude has become so common that nowadays having children is the real rebellion. It takes a sense of responsibility and courage for a young person to set themself apart from the Tinder generation, make sacrifices, choose to have children. To proclaim 'I won't have children here' only means that you don't want to say goodbye to your avocado on toast, to getting a new Iphone each year and going to a party every other day.”
More children won't halt demographic decline
Hetek doesn't believe that the programme can change the demographic trend:
“Firstly, because the group of women of childbearing age (15-45) is shrinking and on average getting older. This means that fewer and fewer women will have children. And even if the average of 2.1 children per woman is reached, it would only slow down the decrease in the population. Secondly, other factors also play a role in demographic trends, in particular the mortality rate and migration. Without a well-thought-out policy for the healthcare sector and against emigration, as well as a concept for immigration, it won't be possible to even delay the democraphic decline, let alone stop it.”