Who Knew?

A USA Today article reports that 4.3 million babies were born in the USA in 2007, a record breaking number. The article writes of a potential “baby-boomlet” and warns of large elementary school class sizes.

Who knew? River was born in December 2007, toward the end of that 4.3 million. Yes, a lot of my friends are having babies within twelve months after River’s birth. But I figured perhaps I’ve just entered the age at which people are having kids and I’ve also entered the parent community, which puts me in closer contact with such people.

The article attributes the population growth to a community of immigrants having more children, women with careers waiting until 40 to begin families, and a large number of women in their 20s and 30s. In 2006, the average number of births per woman was 2.1, the highest it’s been since 1971. I remembered learning the statistic as 1.7.

The thought of increased class sizes is depressing, especially since we hope to use public schools. Perhaps they will instead hire more teachers. On the positive side, this might be just what the social security system needs.