Abstrakt
Postponement transition towards a late childbearing regime is the most characteristic feature of fertility change in European countries. Progressive delay of the first childbirth has become a crucial cause of the sharp drop in total fertility rate particularly in the Central and Eastern Europe.
In the Czech Republic the lowest TFR of 1.13 was recorded in 1999. Since that time modest increase in TFR with different intensity has been documented across Europe, which gives the sign of pushing the TFR off the bottom.
However, a great variability in the current fertility level could be found across Europe. While some countries are very close to the replacement level, others like the Czech Republic are quite far below it.
What are the prospects for the countries with extremely low fertility level? Should governments take actions aimed at increasing the fertility rate? We tried to map out children's interests asking older childrne and adolescent show old would they prefer their parents to be. Children would prefer their parents to be younger than they are.
It is consistent with the most optimal biological age for childbearing and also reflects the past reproductive regime kept in the Czech Republic until mid-1990s. A multi-layered support system should be set up to encourage couples to have children at the appropriate time.
Young people should be informed that the most optimal age to start family is before 30 years.