Why millennial parents have it hardest

Being a new parent hasn't gotten easier in America. It's gotten worse.

Expensive childcare is just one obstacle new parents must overcome.
(Image credit: Oredia / Alamy Stock Photo)

In the endless cycle of internet think pieces about what sort of generation millennials are — most entitled or most self-absorbed? — a constant bone of contention is economic position. Young people themselves generally argue that due to stagnating wages and massive student debt, millennials have it real bad, but others argue that income growth has trickled down to the middle class at least a bit.

One could parse income data all day, but there's one area where millennials are unambiguously worse off than any previous generation: having kids. Even for young people who have managed to land in the upper middle class, it's a tremendous strain — and it gets worse the further down the economic ladder you are.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.