and one for the country ...

In the news today were stories about Australia's "mini baby boom". At least we were spared Costello's smug face accompanying the articles, which combined with the pregnant women around me have made me think about the issue.

Great Aussie Breeders and Baby, Costello's a wonder of science.

So, you get $4k for each child at the moment; not a bad start, although given the gadgets parents seem to "need", this doesn't go too far – and I'm really not sure promoting a consumer-driven start to life is the way to go.

Then there's a 30% rebate on childcare costs up to $4K per year – so up to $13K or so in costs total. Plus if you have 3 or more kids, you now have a large family and get (wait for it) $248 per year (yes, year.) All shows that kids are a cost centre that hormones drive you to have rather than making good economic sense.

However, an interesting quote I thought (at least within my friend circles, anyway) is that socio-economic status matters – the more you earn, the more likely you are to worry about costs. Makes sense I guess; how can you afford a deck and new home theatre if you have children to feed, clothe and generally expend upon.

"People are worried about having to buy a bigger car, a house with a bigger yard," she says. "But it's relative: people in higher socioeconomic neighbourhoods were more worried about money than the less well-off. And the really big thing is child care. We heard women talk about it all the time. It's hard to get and it's too expensive."

Also interesting were the stats saying that women are more likely to have 3 children if they have 2 of the same sex first. Makes sense, look at my dad's family – 6 boys - Grandma had to wait for grandchildren to get a girl.

Still, the articles acknowledge that if you start young, you have more. They didn't comment on education status, or broader initiatives though. As a highly educated professional, I know there's lots I would like to see happen (which I'm not holding my breath for), like longer, partially paid maternity and paternity leave; and real acknowledgement that children have parents, not just mothers. There should be options, so that the full time mum or worker is not the norm; instead if we value our kids, it should be about flexible work arrangements for both parents so that equal contributions can occur in parks not just bank balances. I fear we are still a long way from that though …