Is the Essence of Countermeasures Against the Declining Birthrate 'Education'?

Why do countermeasures against the declining birthrate fail to resonate?

The news was reporting on new measures to combat the declining birthrate again.

Subsidies, childcare support, and housing assistance.

Even though these are all very meaningful initiatives, there is still a lingering feeling that they do not reach the essence of the declining birthrate problem.

It is not because the support is insufficient.

At a more fundamental level,

people's hearts are not being moved.

That is the impression I get.

Having a child is not something that can be explained by living expenses or government systems.

Having a child is, in fact,
choosing to live alongside a small life.

Whether it is one child, two, or more,
it is a determination to walk through life while facing that existence.

It is a mix of hesitation, expectation, fear, and joy.

However, we became adults without ever being systematically taught the 'meaning of that choice' by anyone.

・What is marriage?
・How does a family continue?
・What is the daily life of raising a child like?

Without learning such things,
before you know it, you enter society, and before you know it, only your age increases.

That is why, suddenly,

"I feel like I'm not ready yet"

I think feeling that way is a perfectly natural reaction.

Because no one ever taught us how to prepare.

The declining birthrate is not a problem of young people's consciousness.

I think it is just that the 'result' of the concepts that society as a whole has created

is now appearing on the surface.

It is not that childcare support systems are insufficient,
but that the meaning of childcare has not been nurtured.

It is not that child-rearing support is weak,
but that we have become unable to hold an image of the future of child-rearing.

As long as that disconnect exists, no matter how many measures we pile up,
I believe people's hearts will not be moved.

The declining birthrate is a population issue, but at the same time,
it is also an issue of our individual outlooks on life and education.

This is not a matter of responsibility, nor is it a matter of what is right.

If there is one thing I can say,

perhaps the future can begin once more from the point where people learn the meaning of living with others.

That is what I mean.

And here, I would like to pose a single question.

Why have we come to feel that 'living with someone' is something so distant?

From here on, I will slowly trace the answer to that question.

[Chapter 1] We have become very good at 'living without losing'

Looking back, we have always

valued 'living so as not to lose'.

・So as not to fail.
・So as not to get hurt.
・So as not to take detours.

That is a very sincere and cautious way of living.
It is by no means wrong.

At school, at work, and as the atmosphere of society,

・Choosing the safest path possible
・Minimizing risks
・Walking a life where the future can be predicted

have been considered the 'smart way to live'.

Raised with those values, before we knew it, we

・'What we lose' rather than 'what we gain'
・'What decreases' rather than 'what increases'

had become strongly focused on.

That is precisely why, when the topics of marriage or children come up,
a 'list of anxieties' comes to mind before the 'possibility of happiness'.

・Will I have enough money?
・Won't I lose my freedom?
・Will I be able to balance it with work?

That is not a sign of weakness, but a very serious and realistic imagination.

However, as a result of that caution piling up,

before we knew it,

“we may have unconsciously come to choose the option of 'not choosing'.”

And then one day, we suddenly think this:

“It wasn't that I didn't choose, but that time just passed by while I was unable to choose.”

The declining birthrate is not a phenomenon caused by someone being lazy.

I believe it is a phenomenon born from the accumulation of caution.

[Chapter 2] Are children 'beings that narrow one's life'?

"Having children is tough."

I think everyone has been told that at least once.

Certainly, that is not wrong.
When you actually experience it, you are pushed into a situation several times more grueling than you imagined.

・You can no longer move at your own pace
・You cannot sleep at night
・Plans become easily disrupted

Life definitely changes.

That is why we,

rather than imagining children as a "form of happiness,"

imagine them first as a "burden on life."

However, in reality,

there is another change that happens at the same time.

・Even though you should be busier,for some reason, the "density of time" increases.
・Even though you should be tired,for some reason, you have more "places for your heart to rest."
・Even though you should be losing more things,for some reason, there are moments when you feel that "the world has expanded."

Children arenot beings that steal your life.

I feel that it is an existence that shifts the center of gravity of life, just a little, from 'oneself' to 'someone else'.

・It is not that freedom is lost, but that the way freedom is used changes.
・It is not that life becomes narrower, but that the values of life change.

That is a change that simply cannot be measured by 'loss' and 'gain'.

[Chapter 3] Even so, we become adults while 'not knowing' about child-rearing

Looking back on what has been said so far,
I have arrived at a certain sense of discomfort.

Are we not becoming adults while knowing far too little
about the endeavor of raising children?

We learned arithmetic.
We also learned Japanese, history, and English.

However,

・The emotional fluctuations of children
・Continuing to be lost as a parent
・The reality that families are constantly changing

Such 'life itself' has
almost never been treated as a school subject.

That is why we

approach child-rearing based on 'imagination'.

・Will I be able to do it well?
・What if I fail?
・I don't know the right answer

Having these anxieties
is precisely because you have a sense of responsibility.

That is why I think.

At the root of the declining birthrate,

it is not about whether to give birth or not,

but rather whether or not we can have an image of living together.is what it comes down to.

[Chapter 4] That is precisely why I want education to address 'ways of living' before 'knowledge'.

Education, by nature,

is not about teaching 'how to live efficiently and successfully,' but about cultivating 'the strength to live while navigating uncertainty,'

or so I believe.

Life does not go as planned.

Marriage, child-rearing, work, and aging,

none of these things ever proceed exactly as scheduled.

And yet, we

・Must not fail
・Must not make mistakes
・Must not get lost

have grown into adults in an atmosphere that demands such things.

What if, within education,

・It is okay to be lost
・It is okay to start over even if you fail
・It is okay to live while remaining imperfect

were placed more naturally?

Surely, life choices,

would feel just a little bit lighter.

There is no need to teach 'methods of child-rearing'.

Because the right answer is different for every family.

However,

・Parents also become parents while being lost
・Children also grow while failing
・A perfect family does not exist

Just by knowing these realities in advance,

the hurdles of life will certainly be lowered.

[Chapter 5] How does the family landscape change when education changes?

What if, within education,

there was a little more time than there is now to think about the 'reality of living with someone'.

Surely, marriage and children would become,
just a little less distant as events than they are now.

Having children will, as always, be difficult.
Sleepless nights will not disappear.
Days that do not go as planned will continue.

But that difficulty,

if you face it as a 'series of sudden, bewildering moments' versus 'facing it knowing that is how it is',
the way your heart receives it will be completely different.

Children are notbeings you welcome only after you have completed your life.

An incomplete self,
creating an incomplete family.

That clumsy process,
returns to the center of life.

Just by that alone, the atmosphere of society,
feels like it would become a little softer than it is now.

[Final Chapter] Perhaps the declining birthrate is a question of whether we can believe in the future.

The term 'declining birthrate' has

a somewhat cold ring to it.

Yet, deep down,

there lies a very personal and quiet question.

Can you imagine wanting to live the rest of your life with someone?

The declining birthrate

may not be a phenomenon where 'the number of children is decreasing,' but rather

'the energy to step into the future is quietly fading away.'

That is what it might be.

To have a child is to
choose to live alongside a small life.

Whether it is one, two, or many,
it was a determination to walk forward while facing that existence.

That determination,

not as a heavy resolve,
not as an unreasonable obligation,
but a society where it becomes a natural choice.

I believe that what supports this, even before systems, is education.

This text is not intended to tell anyone that they 'should give birth'.

I simply wrote this hoping that 'a society where the choice to live together is more naturally affirmed' would exist.

That is what I wished for when I wrote it.

Countermeasures against the declining birthrate are not about increasing the population, but about gradually increasing the number of people who can believe in the future.

That is what I think.

In conclusion

Thank you for reading to the end.
I would appreciate it if you could take a look at my other articles as well.

The end