Minister Göktaş: 57 percent of households do not have children

Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stated that the fact that 57 percent of households in Türkiye do not have children reveals once again the importance of policies regarding population structure and said, "We are producing versatile population policies in line with our vision of the Family and Population Decade, and developing reformist support mechanisms to enlarge our family stories." he said.

Göktaş published a video message regarding family and population policies on his NSosyal account.

Emphasizing in his post that his greatest wish is to increase the number of children's voices that bring joy to tables and fruitful homes, and for family stories to grow from generation to generation, Göktaş said:

"The fact that 57 percent of our households do not have children today once again reveals the importance of our policies regarding our population structure. As the Ministry, we see protecting our dynamic population structure and family institution as a vital element for the strong future of our nation. In line with our vision of the Decade of Family and Population, we produce versatile population policies and develop reform support mechanisms to enlarge our family stories. We will continue to work with all our strength with the intention of meeting our strong families at bigger tables."

"FAMILY IS OUR SAFE HARBOR, OUR MOST PRECIOUS SHELTER"

In his video message, Göktaş included Chief Mehmet Yalçınkaya's statements about the decrease in birth rates in a television program and thanked Yalçınkaya for the awareness he created.

Pointing out that issues related to population and family should be brought to the agenda more in television, programs and series, Göktaş said:

"Because the data is clear. Today, 57 percent of our households in Türkiye do not have any children under the age of 18. We need to change this. This is why we care about the 'Decade of Family and Population'. Our generation grew up with a large family. We knew our siblings, we knew our brothers and sisters. We grew up with our aunts, uncles, and aunts.

So why are these concepts important? Because family is our safest harbour, our most valuable shelter. What a child lacks is not just the silence of a room. It diminishes a brother's playmate, an aunt's nephew, an uncle's joy, an aunt's conversation, and an uncle's memories. "Houses where children's voices increase are the joy of society."