“I don’t really take care of my son.” The difficulty in reconciling the demands of work with a good education for children, in an ultra-competitive society and with little help from the State, explains to a large extent the declining birth rate in Chinathe most populous country in the world.
Chinese authorities announced Tuesday that the country’s population declined last year for the first time in more than six decades. Currently it is 1,411.75 million.
Experts warn that this could hurt long-term economic growth and strain public coffers.
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The local authorities have wanted to help the birth with monthly aid of a few hundred yuan for new parents and baby checks for each birth.
But those who already have children explain to AFP that if they don’t have more, it is because of the difficulty of combining the demands of a very rigorous labor market with the ambition of giving their offspring the best future.
“For many homes it is extremely difficult to raise a child, and even that is not handled very well.”, says Wenjing, a blogger in her late 40s, for whom government aid is “insubstantial”.
“Many families suffered financially with the pandemic. And in these harsh circumstances, many people decided not to have any more children.” explains this woman.
China it ended its one-child policy in 2016, and in 2021 allowed couples to have up to three children.
Larger cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, have extended maternity leave to 158 days, and last year health authorities issued instructions requiring local governments to provide childcare, albeit for a fee.
However, obstacles remain, such as the absence of breastfeeding spaces in most workplaces, and the inability for unmarried women to freeze their eggs.
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A place at a private day care center can cost between 5,000 yuan ($740) and 20,000 yuan ($2,950) a month in Beijing, according to the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Many urban youth also live far from their families in the extended sense, which deprives them of essential help from uncles or grandparents.
The social pressure of a “meticulous” education
For Nancy, a 30-plus-year-old mother from Beijing who works in the e-commerce industry, balancing work and taking care of her son is a Herculean task.
“I can’t reconcile” tells AFP.
“If you want to breastfeed the child, you basically have to stop working. But with our situation, we can’t afford it.”
Social expectations about how to educate offspring also play a role.
“If you have lower standards, you probably aren’t as married. But here most of the people educate their children in a meticulous way”, toadded Nancy.
“And if you insist on leaving work at five in the afternoon to take care of your child, you will be given less work and you will be overtaken by your colleagues”add.
Those who can, rely on family support.
“The ability of our generation to go to work basically depends on the exploitation of grandparents, who help us educate our children for a few years,” Nancy explains.
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“I don’t take care of my son”
Ivy Meng, also in her thirties, tells AFP that her young son “he was educated mainly by his grandparents” during the pandemic, when schools were closed and both she and her husband continued to work full time.
When it came to choosing between working and spending time with her son during the week, she chose the former.
“I don’t really take care of my son” He says. “I come home very late every night, and I don’t see him much.”
Still, she says she is one of the lucky ones, as many young Chinese women cannot count on family support like hers.
“Most of the time, husbands don’t want to share the responsibility of childcare, and their parents or in-laws don’t want to help,” summarizes.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
