Jim PenmanCEO, Jim's Group · CEO and Founder of Australia's largest franchise, Jim's Group

Why Bring Babies Into This World? Jim Penman on the Birth Rate Crisis

20 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this YouTube interview segment, Jim Penman answers a skeptical question about why anyone would want to bring children into a world marked by political division and chaos. He argues that solving global problems ultimately depends on people, so those unprepared for the heavy responsibilities of parenthood should wait. Penman identifies short‑term, self‑centered thinking as a key driver of societal dysfunction and proposes that adopting longer‑term, altruistic ways of living, thinking, and behaving can improve individual happiness and help reverse the declining birth‑rate crisis. He frames these lifestyle changes as both personal benefits and a broader demographic solution.

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This world is absolutely insane. Politics are all over the place. Nobody can agree on anything. So why on earth would you want people to bring babies into it?
All the problems in the world can only be solved by people. I'd say if you're not ready to have children, you probably shouldn't, because being a parent is a very heavy responsibility. But I would say also that a lot of the things that's wrong with people in the world is a result of living in the wrong way. People who live lives that are, I suppose, too short-term in their thinking, too much indulged in what's good for me right now, tend to have a frame of mind that isn't so good. One of the things about this book is we suggest there's ways of living, there's ways of behaving, there's ways of thinking that's a lot better for you. And that's part of the way of curing the birth rate crisis, but it's also a way of helping individual people to live happier and better lives.