Why do young people in China tend to be afraid to have children?

According to a new report by market research firm Jefferies, as a percentage of income that households can use after paying personal income tax and social insurance, the China is the most expensive place to raise a baby from birth to 18 years old. During that time, the average Chinese household will spend more than $75,000 and need another $22,000 to pay for college. Total cost is approximately 100 thousand USD (about 2.3 billion VND).

From urban to rural areas, expensive expenses for children are causing a lot of headaches for young families in China.

If you live in a big city in China, you may have to prepare about 265 to 465 thousand yuan (equivalent to 950 million to 1.6 billion VND) before intending to do so. born a baby. According to Reuters, resources at public hospitals in China are tight, and more and more Chinese women are choosing to give birth at private medical facilities for a fee of about 100,000 yuan.

During the month of confinement, families often hire nannies for about 15,000 yuan. Mothers are also increasingly using postpartum care, which in Beijing will cost between 150,000 and 350,000 yuan per month.

Notably, education accounts for a large portion of the cost of raising children. Qiu Chunjuan, a parent with two children from Shanghai, said: “The economic pressure in Shanghai is still great, as my son attends a private school, so in addition to the main tuition fee, he will lose money for further education.”

However, the cost is not necessarily in the tuition fee. Many cities in China stipulate that if you want to send your child to a good school, the family must reside in the same district as the school, and those who are not eligible to enter public schools because they do not have a residence permit must to attend private schools, tuition fees range from 40,000 to 250,000 yuan per year.

In Shanghai, in 2020 alone, home sales in areas with good schools increased by 21%, house prices increased by 8%. Apartments in districts with good schools like Haidian in Beijing, where the average house price is more than 90,000 yuan per square meter, is on par with the median price in Manhattan, US.

Ms. Hu Yanhua – Parent of 1 child, Shanghai said: “Currently, very few people choose to have more children, especially in an expensive place like Shanghai”.

In an expensive city, it was enough, now, even in rural areas, many mothers are not ready to have more children. Ms. Ping, a farmer living on the outskirts of Shanghai, said she would not have a third child at this time. “Even if I have a third child, it will still take 2 years for me to consider that possibility. My second child has grown a bit then, I can spend time with the younger one.” .

Changing population structure – China faces aging pressure

Families who are afraid to have children dramatically change China’s population structure. If in 2015, the proportion of people over 60 years old in China accounted for only 16%, by 2050 the number of people of retirement age will account for one-third of the population. In the past, the working age was overwhelming, but in the future, it is forecasted that only approximately 50% of the population will be.

Faced with this challenge, Chinese officials have repeatedly moved to ease policy. Before 2016, couples in China were only allowed to have one child, but only five years later, by mid-2021, the country’s authorities have allowed couples to have a maximum of three children. A big change in policy in a very short period of time.

Most recently, the National Assembly of this country has passed many policies to encourage three children. 100% free tuition for the 3rd child from kindergarten to high school. Insurance and living allowance for 3rd to 18 year old children. Recently, China also made a revolution to ban tutoring in order to reduce pressure and reduce the cost of studying for parents.

In addition to 98 days of maternity leave, many localities also provide an additional 30 days of leave for those who have a third child. Some places provide allowances for families having a third child up to the age of 3, 500 yuan per month. However, the country’s birth rate is still the lowest in the last six decades.

The mentality of young families in China is afraid to have children

Although not rich, China is suffering from a demographic – economic paradox like Western countries – that is, when conditions are better than poor countries, they are afraid to give birth.

Young Chinese still face a lot of pressure from asserting themselves, earning money and enjoying life, so they get married later and only want to have 1-2 children. The rate of couples getting married last year was only half of what it was 7 years ago.

Many people are not very enthusiastic about the policy of having three children because there is too much pressure on one child’s shoulders as a result of the harsh one-child policy, such as taking care of four parents, mortgage debt. … high cost of birth, rearing and daily living.

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