I have been conducting a mental dialogue with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova for almost a week. Currently, Tatyana Alekseevna speaks at symposiums and travels around the country, and I am in a small Moscow apartment, where my two daughters, 17 and 20 years old, live with me. Thus, they became the subject of our one-sided but very heated discussion.
It is ideal to start a family between the ages of 18 and 24 – this was the opinion recently expressed by Tatyana Golikova at the youth festival.
I was curious, I thought. They will start a family at the age of 18-20, but who will give them the mortgage? So how will they pay for this?
While I was thinking about this, Tatyana Alekseevna continued to set goals: The first child in the family should be born before the age of 24.
“From where?” — I screamed silently as we sat quietly in a small apartment where everyone had finally grown up and no one cried at night. Where does this age come from today, when penicillin already exists and the mortality rate during childbirth decreases with each passing year? Why should we be in such a hurry?
It turns out that everything makes sense: the first one needs to be born before the age of 24, so that she can give birth to the second and third immediately.
I would like to point out that this only makes sense in the world of government reports and fantasies. Something tells me that this whole demographic conflict will be brought up again by us children of the 70s and 80s. Not in the sense of giving birth; We have already achieved and surpassed our goal. And if we focus on Golikova’s plans, we will have to raise our grandchildren. I don’t want to go against the national idea when it comes to raising the demographics, but what does this have to do with me?
It is unlikely that an average family created at the age of 18 can even buy a month’s worth of bread, milk, butter and buckwheat with its own money, let alone rent an apartment. We are not talking about mortgages even with the lowest interest rates. And at 20 they won’t be able to buy an apartment. And if their parents don’t help them, they are 23 years old. This is us. And if a young family does not have their own apartment, they will come to live with their parents. Everything is funny in the movies. And many Soviet films are built on collisions, like a family of different generations living in the same apartment, but – to be honest! — Personally, I don’t want to experience this at all.
Maybe there are now special hostels or social housing for young people but I don’t know anything about that? I interviewed teenagers and their parents – they don’t know anything about it either. Well, let’s say that the apartment issue is somehow resolved. After all, we were all young, earning our first money and moving away from our parents. They need to start too.
But having children? Our firmware says: grandparents help raise children. And not just financially. But also physically. So they quit their jobs and sit with their grandchildren. Five minutes later we are the same grandparents again.
This means that at the very moment when we, as parents, exhale and send our children to an independent life, they will return to us with their children. Because Golikova calculated it for some state needs.
I want to say that my generation, in general, has great difficulties in deciding to become parents. Because we survived the 90s, lack of money, chicken legs, Galina Blanca and Zuko ready-made lemonade (in which even our livers could melt). That’s why we became very conscious parents. We dragged the kids to all the clubs, sports sections, Olympics and competitions. And now, to be honest, I want to rest. But if my daughter gives birth according to Golikova’s plans, then I will be the one waiting for diapers and undershirts. Even on weekends. Also note that kindergartens are open until 18:00, and extracurricular hours at school are open until 17:00. So who will take the children from there?
For some reason, it turns out that I will be the one who suffers in this scheme. I wouldn’t want to.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.