What the candidates need to do to win the support of parents.
Americans aren’t having babies. In fact, in 2023, fewer babies were born than in any year since 1979.
We’ve seen a whole lot of panic about what that means for the future of the American economy. But what we haven’t seen is a whole lot of urgency around the most obvious solution: policies that make it easier — and more affordable — to actually take care of a family.
One of the biggest reasons adults cite for not wanting kids is the financial burden. And as the CEO of Moms First, I hear some version of that from hundreds of mothers every day. Trying to make a family work in America is simply overwhelming.
Here’s the reality: American families are drowning. They’re facing rising levels of inflation and market instability. The cost of child care is astronomical. The emotional and financial toll on mothers is unsustainable — a combination that’s stalling workforce participation for moms of young kids.
So it’s not surprising that parents are struggling — 59 percent of those with young kids have had to cut back on work hours or even leave their jobs because they couldn’t find reliable, affordable child care. This is not just an economic issue; it’s a matter of education and the future success of our children. Kids who receive quality child care consisting of supportive, nurturing relationships with trusted teachers and positive, diverse learning experiences are 25 percent more likely to finish high school and four times more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Meanwhile, it’s incredibly difficult — and expensive — to bring a child into the world in the first place. The United States is the only industrialized nation without a national paid leave policy. We love to tout ourselves as the land of opportunity, yet we deny parents the basic right to take time off to care for their newborns, resulting in one in four women returning to work just two weeks after giving birth.
And for those who want children but are struggling with infertility, in-vitro fertilization isn’t just an expensive emotional rollercoaster — soon it could be off-limits entirely.
It’s no wonder people aren’t having kids. We’ve set families up to fail. What is surprising is how few of our leaders are embracing actual pro-family solutions to fix it.
Pro-family sounds easy enough: make it easier to have kids, to care for kids, and to work and parent at the same time.
But, for a lot of people, that “pro-family” vision seems stuck in the 1950s — when it came at the cost of women’s reproductive freedom and economic participation. (Not to mention the fact that that June Cleaver ideal ignores the experiences of women of color, who often had no other choice than to work outside the home.) This yearning for the traditional family, where husbands are the head of the household and wives are homemakers and caregivers, represents a backlash to major social changes in recent years and shifts in the image of the ideal American family.
Influencers, politicians, and pundits are painting a picture of the “traditional” family that is sharply dividing us. Choices about whether and when to have kids are being restricted. Some leaders are calling out those who choose not to have children as “miserable” — an argument that falls flat as many childless adults simply don’t want kids, and studies show that they’re often happier and healthier than people with kids.
But when child care costs more than housing in every state in the country, the real misery lies with the parents juggling impossible choices between caring for their kids and putting food on the table.
This push to turn back the clock on gender roles comes in the middle of a heated presidential election where family values are being touted by candidates on both sides of the aisle. Polarized views of the ideal American family have emerged as a hot-button issue in the 2024 election.
Across party lines, Americans are united in their demand for candidates who prioritize family-friendly policies. A staggering 89 percent of voters want candidates to have a plan to help parents afford quality child care. This issue transcends party lines, reflecting a deep, bipartisan consensus.
At the same time, 85 percent of voters in battleground states support paid parental, family, and medical leave. And huge majorities of millennial and Gen Z voters — precisely the people deciding whether to have children right now — say that the creation of a paid leave program would motivate them to vote.
Voters are no longer satisfied with empty promises; they want action.
As we head into the final run-up to November, one thing is clear: being “pro-family” is the way to win this race. But we need a pro-family vision that’s designed for actual, real-life 21st-century parents — the people meticulously counting down the days of their maternity leave, running the numbers on daycare costs, and trying to figure out a plan to keep their kids entertained economically over the summer — not some extremist view of what the ideal family “should” look like.
This election is about recognizing the importance of family and the role of government in supporting them. It’s about understanding that paid leave and child care are not secondary issues; they are central to the well-being of our society.
As we approach this critical election, voters are asking: which candidates are going to deliver for us once and for all? It’s the candidates ready to turn bipartisan support into real action. The ones who understand this — who are ready to deliver on paid leave and child care — are the ones most likely to win over the electorate.
And maybe, with a little commitment to “pro-family” policies they’ll make a dent in our low birth rate at the same time.
Reshma Saujani is a leading activist, the founder of Girls Who Code, and the founder and CEO of Moms First, a national nonprofit organization.
