Dogs now outnumber children under eight in Spain by five to one
Dogs in Spain now outnumber children under eight by five to one. Demographics, costs and a cultural shift raise the question of why Spain prefers canines to kids.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Dogs outnumber children under eight by five to one: the statistic that stings
When did the dog become the perfect child? The latest regional statistics suggest that in Spain dogs outnumber children under eight by five to one. The figure, published by El Periódico Extremadura, has peine an uncomfortable debate: the place pets occupy in a society whose birth rate is in free fall.
Those who downplay the figure point to something hard to argue with: anyone can have a dog, from 16 to 90 years old, whereas children only arrive within a very specific biological window. The comparison stings precisely because of that: we choose dogs because they are easier, not because we love animals more.
Some see in this substitution a symptom of decline. The young urbanite, the one who argues that children are too much work, is capable of spending hours picking up dog mess and paying thousands of euros on vets, boarding kennels and even pet fashion. Nature, as the saying goes, is wise, but its consequences are not always pleasant to look at.
The cost of raising a child in Spain far exceeds the upkeep of any dog, but that is not the point. The point is what it says about us that the dog has gone from companion to substitute. If the demographic pyramid keeps up like this, there will soon be more dog boarding facilities than schools.
The dinosaurs, which also disappeared, never asked for explanations. The statistics have given us one: the dog is the new child, and we have only just begun.
When did the dog become the perfect child? The latest regional statistics suggest that in Spain dogs outnumber children under eight by five to one. The figure, published by El Periódico Extremadura, has peine an uncomfortable debate: the place pets occupy in a society whose birth rate is in free fall.
Those who downplay the figure point to something hard to argue with: anyone can have a dog, from 16 to 90 years old, whereas children only arrive within a very specific biological window. The comparison stings precisely because of that: we choose dogs because they are easier, not because we love animals more.
Some see in this substitution a symptom of decline. The young urbanite, the one who argues that children are too much work, is capable of spending hours picking up dog mess and paying thousands of euros on vets, boarding kennels and even pet fashion. Nature, as the saying goes, is wise, but its consequences are not always pleasant to look at.
The cost of raising a child in Spain far exceeds the upkeep of any dog, but that is not the point. The point is what it says about us that the dog has gone from companion to substitute. If the demographic pyramid keeps up like this, there will soon be more dog boarding facilities than schools.
The dinosaurs, which also disappeared, never asked for explanations. The statistics have given us one: the dog is the new child, and we have only just begun.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (23 replies).
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