Twinkle 29 / Brainstorming scenario
Having children: make the wanted choice possible
Support people to have the family they want, including fewer children or none. Affordability is one factor; health, relationships, care, time, confidence and personal preference matter too.
The question is what prevents people having the family they want. That includes relationships, health, care, time and confidence as well as money; optional shared households are one possibility among several.
Explore the connected work
- Global Group Marriages - A voluntary adult household and relationship thought experiment exploring care, consent, governance and exit. Source repository
- Mutual Futures - A connected proposal for productive ownership, paid livelihoods, learning, care and freedom over time. Source repository
- 500 Queens: care and participation - Voluntary contribution and care alongside women’s leadership, learning and paid enterprise pathways. Source repository
How it could work
- Services identify unmet needs without setting a birth target or assuming everyone wants children.
- Join reproductive and relationship support, secure housing, usable leave and care access around the person's priorities.
- Offer optional shared-care and household arrangements with clear individual rights, while testing whether barriers to wanted choices actually fall.
Everyday example
A couple wanting another child can address work hours and caring load; someone choosing no children is not treated as a policy failure.
Who could act and how it could be funded
Health and care services span national and state programmes, with employers and households participating by choice. Cost services separately and assess access and wellbeing rather than paying for a birth count.
Fair-go safeguards
No coercion, preferred family template or fertility promise. Optional shared households need clear entry, consent, property and exit arrangements; nobody owes a public explanation of their decision.
What would show progress
Unmet wanted-family needs; care access; time pressure; informed choice; wellbeing across different household forms.