You may have heard that there are close to eight billion human beings currently residing on planet earth. Seems like a lot, right? Despite those numbers, many governments are concerned about declining birth rates in their home nations. To encourage the frequency of giggity and childbirth, governments have come up with giveaways like tax breaks, bonuses, extra time off (both to make the baby and to care for it later), and boxes of baby care supplies. What else are governments doing to encourage the act of procreation? Let's take a look!
There may be 8 billion people on the planet, but governments around the world still want their citizens to get it on.
Do It for Denmark
Denmark's campaign points out that vacation is a great time for lovemaking in their humorous video. Part government-sponsored giggity, part travel agency ad, the pro-sex message is tied in with a contest to win a three-year-supply of diapers and a family-friendly vacation. I guess that's to remind vacationers that a baby will mean a change in the way they'll vacation from now on.
Do It for Mother Russia
Russia's declining birth rate is a bummer for Vladimir Putin. That's why he offered a bonus of 250,000 rubles to women willing to have a second child. At the current rate of exchange, that's about $4,000. Even in Russia, I doubt that's a sufficient amount of money to raise an entire child. Thanks, Putin!
Do It for Japan
Japan is also concerned about their lack of babies. One epidemiologist has suggested that if the birth rate doesn't increase, the Japanese people could be extinct in 1,000 years. To combat this, they built Yotaro. Yotaro is a robotic baby that's so awesome, that they hope it will encourage people to have real babies. Yotaro is essentially a balloon that mumbles, breathes, coughs, and looks kind of like a baby--if babies were terrifying, freakish, and haunted your nightmares. Personally, I think I'd rather raise the robot until it leaves for college.
Japan hasn't stopped there, though. The Japanese government has launched an online dating site called "Fukui Marriage-Hunting Café" which is exactly what it sounds like. The Fukui prefecture has a lot of what we used to call DINK households (double income, no kids). The director of Fukui's "Children and Family's division" reports that the government will hand out gifts and money to newlywed couples. The director stated, "Our goal is first to help people meet each other and then support them as they get married and have children." Happy spouse hunting, Japan!
Do It for Turkey
The Turkish government also thinks cold, hard cash is the way to inspire more baby making. They offer 300 lira for a couple's first child, 400 for the second, and 600 for the third—three being the Turkish government's minimum appropriate number of children for a family. They also support women returning to work part-time after giving birth. In Turkey, this means being paid a full-time wage despite putting in part-time hours. Cool, right?
Do It for Singapore
Singapore isn't messing around when it comes to getting its citizens to mess around. They sponsor what's called National Night. It is a holiday where citizens are culturally obligated to make whoopee. As if a national sex holiday wasn't cool enough, Singapore's government hooked up with a certain fresh-making candy to produce a hot video and song for National Night. Let your patriotism explode, everyone!
Do It for South Korea
South Korea adopted a similar stance, turning off the lights in office buildings to encourage workers to head home and make with the baby making. On "Family Day" citizens are encouraged to spend the day with children and spouses (or your parents, if you're not married yet). Some South Koreans think Family Day is not a viable solution to the low birth rate crisis. Many young couples report not having children because the cost of raising and educating them is so high. South Korean businesses are also encouraged by their government to give men five days off after the birth of a child, ostensibly to help with its care. Sure, because after those first five days, kids pretty much raise themselves, right? Time will tell which of these government initiatives will do the trick. If your government is willing to shell out fabulous cash and prizes for making babies, it's probably worth thinking about.
