Say what you will about wacky billionaire Elon Musk, but the nerd knows math — he’s a rocket scientist for goodness’ sake. Asked recently what keeps him up at night, he replied, 

The birthrate is very low in almost every country. Unless that changes civilization will disappear. America had the lowest birthrate I believe ever, that was last year. Places like Korea, the birthrate is one third replacement rate. That means in three generations, Korea will be three or four percent of its current size. And nothing seems to be turning that around. Humanity is dying.

For generations, Big Media’s been terrifying us about global overpopulation and the famine and environmental catastrophes that will inevitably result. It turns out that, like Biden’s sentience and his “secure” border, it was just another Big Media/Big Lie, and once again, the exact opposite is true.

The numbers don’t lie. U.S. births have fallen by 17% since 2007 and births per 1,000 women have fallen 21% over that time period. U.S. birthrates are predicted to decline throughout the remainder of this century. The death rate will exceed the birthrate by 2038. Within a decade, seniors will outnumber children.

What’s causing the decline?  According to a 2025 Harris poll, “the state of the economy” has negatively affected 65% of Americans’ plans to have a child. To allay those concerns, Trump, our self-proclaimed “fertilization president”, is proposing $5,000 “baby bonuses” for every birth, increasing the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,500, and even awarding a “National Medal of Motherhood” to women who have at least six children. But those sums are a pittance when weighed against the $389,000 (not including college tuition!) a middle-class family will spend to raise a child. Besides, other countries have offered far more generous incentives which all proved ineffective.

So, if powerful governments can’t increase the birthrate, then depopulation is just another apocalyptic threat the average person is helpless to avert? Well, no actually. Not if grandparents commit to providing daily daycare to their grandkids.

When our fully employed son and daughter-in-law told us they were going to have a baby, my wife and I assured them we’d provide full-time daycare until they felt their child was ready for preschool. We were retired, lived close by, and felt sorry for them and the overwhelming economic pressures their generation faces: daycare costs are insane; first home prices are insane; car prices are insane; student loan debt is insane; food prices are insane — a Big Mac costs $5.79!  And all the while, the Big Bad AI Wolf is at their door baying for their jobs.

But wanting to help them bear the financial burden of childrearing wasn’t the main reason for offering to provide daycare. In a way, we were acting in our own self-interest: we simply couldn’t stomach the idea of placing our infant grandchild in a daycare center. Not if we were in a position to offer an alternative.

Is there anything more heartbreakingly helpless than a baby? I realize that daycare workers are skilled professionals, but doesn’t a baby need to be tended to by someone who cares for her in more than a professional way? Someone who loves her as a grandchild?

It’s not the travel-intensive retirement we’d dreamt of, but it’s hard to overstate the positive difference our daycare commitment has made. My son and daughter-in-law have both said it was a “game changer” in their decision to have a second child. But for them, too, it went well beyond the financial. According to my daughter-in-law, it’s “a thousand times easier” for her to leave her child with us every morning than to drop her off at a daycare center.

And as for my wife and me, the payoff is enormous. Babies don’t get enough credit for how hilarious they are; we spend much of the day laughing at her crazy antics. And every time a baby smiles at you, your heart lifts. There’s also the added bonus of giving us the singular experience of working side-by-side every day on a common project to which we’re both wholeheartedly committed.

It is fun, but it’s also a real job. In order for our kids to remain in good standing in their demanding careers, my wife and I have to be available and on time to provide daycare every day, all day. There’s also a good deal of lifting involved which sometimes leads to sore backs. And, without fail, we seem to catch every cold that blows through the kiddie community.

But the paradigm is failing; our kids are not having kids. And that means they’re missing out on life’s central experience. We need to step in and do whatever we can to make sure they’re decision-making is informed by the sure knowledge that we’ll be there beside them navigating life’s inevitable, daily challenges. 

Only 8% of grandparents provide daily or near-daily care for their grandkids. Civilizationally speaking, that’s not cutting it. The times, they have changed; our responsibility to our families no longer ceases when our kids leave the nest.

Image from Grok.