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Costs, Not Just Law, Deterred Chinese Couples From Another Child | Costs, Not Just Law, Deterred Chinese Couples From Another Child |
(about 5 hours later) | |
BEIJING — When the Chinese government loosened the one-child policy in 2013, Cai Wei and Ni Jun wanted to take advantage of it. | |
The Beijing couple already had a son, Huhu, born in 2010, and like many families they wanted the child to have a sibling. | The Beijing couple already had a son, Huhu, born in 2010, and like many families they wanted the child to have a sibling. |
But by the time the government announced Thursday that all Chinese couples could finally, legally, have a second child, the couple had changed their minds. | But by the time the government announced Thursday that all Chinese couples could finally, legally, have a second child, the couple had changed their minds. |
“Our life would become harder,” Ms. Cai said. “It’s a money thing.” | “Our life would become harder,” Ms. Cai said. “It’s a money thing.” |
She ticked off a few expenses. | She ticked off a few expenses. |
“We pay about 1,400 renminbi a month for Huhu’s kindergarten,” she said, about $220. “And that’s just the fees. Then there’s extra lessons. He loves art. Swimming is 100 renminbi an hour,” or $16. “Rollerblading. It’s all so expensive. I’d love to have a second child, but I’m afraid of the consequences.” | |
The couple’s story is a common one. | The couple’s story is a common one. |
For most ordinary families, the expense of raising a second child is overwhelming. Education is costly, child care generally dependent on willing relatives. And partly because people have so few children, prices for everything related to children are high. | For most ordinary families, the expense of raising a second child is overwhelming. Education is costly, child care generally dependent on willing relatives. And partly because people have so few children, prices for everything related to children are high. |
So for many Chinese families the decision to have another child comes down to math. | So for many Chinese families the decision to have another child comes down to math. |
Two years ago, the government allowed couples in which one partner was an only child to have a second child. Ms. Cai, then 38, was an only child so she and her husband qualified. And they had long dreamed of giving Huhu a little sister. | Two years ago, the government allowed couples in which one partner was an only child to have a second child. Ms. Cai, then 38, was an only child so she and her husband qualified. And they had long dreamed of giving Huhu a little sister. |
Ms. Cai is a private therapeutic masseuse. Mr. Ni, 41, is a guide for a travel agency who frequently travels overseas with groups. | |
They live with his mother in a two-bedroom apartment that they own, in an ordinary tower block in Beijing. They have a car, and a combined salary of about $3,900 a month. While that puts them in the middle class, they find that the two salaries are essential to cover costs and they have little room to maneuver. | They live with his mother in a two-bedroom apartment that they own, in an ordinary tower block in Beijing. They have a car, and a combined salary of about $3,900 a month. While that puts them in the middle class, they find that the two salaries are essential to cover costs and they have little room to maneuver. |
Private kindergartens typically cost at least $630 a month. Cheaper, state-run kindergartens are highly sought after and cannot offer enough places. Huhu was lucky to get a place in one, Ms. Cai said. Still, education accounts for about 15 percent of their family budget. | |
Mr. Ni’s job takes him out of the country for about two weeks a month, so Ms. Cai is often alone with Huhu. | |
In China, a man’s parents traditionally help raise their grandchild, a system that many believe works best. But Mr. Ni’s father died last year and his mother’s health is not good. | In China, a man’s parents traditionally help raise their grandchild, a system that many believe works best. But Mr. Ni’s father died last year and his mother’s health is not good. |
“I am afraid that it would be too difficult for me to continue working after having a second child,” Ms. Cai said. Quitting would shrink the family finances. | |
“I could be a full-time mom, or just work part-time, but that would be really hard,” she said. “Could we still afford our standard of living? What would life be like for us?” | “I could be a full-time mom, or just work part-time, but that would be really hard,” she said. “Could we still afford our standard of living? What would life be like for us?” |
These questions haunt her. | These questions haunt her. |
China’s social safety net is underdeveloped, too, she said. The state has been investing in a nationwide health insurance system, but other services are lacking, she said. | China’s social safety net is underdeveloped, too, she said. The state has been investing in a nationwide health insurance system, but other services are lacking, she said. |
“Like for working mothers, there’s nothing,” she said. “Who looks after your baby? A nanny is a very, very big cost.” | “Like for working mothers, there’s nothing,” she said. “Who looks after your baby? A nanny is a very, very big cost.” |
Typically, a nanny in a big city like Beijing may cost $235 to $475, or more, a month, depending on the nanny’s education. | |
After several food safety disasters such as melamine-tainted infant formula and recycled “gutter oil” sold as cheap cooking oil, many families buy safer foods. | |
“We have to buy some imported foods, especially for our baby,” Ms. Cai said. “It’s expensive.” | “We have to buy some imported foods, especially for our baby,” Ms. Cai said. “It’s expensive.” |
So though Ms. Cai wanted a second child, her initial enthusiasm has faded. | So though Ms. Cai wanted a second child, her initial enthusiasm has faded. |
“In reality, everyone has thought this through,” she said. “We’ve known for a while that they would do this.” | “In reality, everyone has thought this through,” she said. “We’ve known for a while that they would do this.” |
The change in policy had been a government talking point for several years, and there were signs of increasing relaxation. | The change in policy had been a government talking point for several years, and there were signs of increasing relaxation. |
And, she said, everyone knows why: a demographic crunch that policy makers fear has cut into the labor force, and will create a cohort of elderly Chinese whose care will be a challenge. | |
“The family planning policies have gone on for so long and there are so few little children,” she said. “But it’s not that simple to have a child. And I don’t mean in physical terms, that I’m 40 now. I mean in economic terms.” | “The family planning policies have gone on for so long and there are so few little children,” she said. “But it’s not that simple to have a child. And I don’t mean in physical terms, that I’m 40 now. I mean in economic terms.” |
“I do know people with more than one child,” she concluded. “Even three. But they are very rich.” | “I do know people with more than one child,” she concluded. “Even three. But they are very rich.” |
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