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Beginning January 1, the nation’s contentious “one-child” policy will be replaced with a two-child limit, capping 37 years of a restriction that influenced the life of the traditional Chinese family. The new policy affects an estimated 90 million Chinese women. Three million more babies are expected to be born every year, though many couples may think twice about another child, given the high cost of living and education concerns.
The end of the “one-child” policy is a means of addressing the imbalance between China’s rapidly ageing population and its declining work force. The new policy is expected to add about 30 million people to the labor force by 2050, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
The new policy was phased in. In late 2013, couples were allowed to have a second child if either of the parents came from a single-child family. In 2014, about 370,000 couples in Shanghai were qualified to have a second child, but only 5 percent applied to do so.
“I wouldn’t consider having a second child, at least not for another three years,” said 32-year-old Yang Le, who has a three-year-old daughter. “It’s actually a lot of work already caring for my daughter, and we are under a lot of financial pressure.”
It is common for Chinese grandparents to help take care of children, especially when they are toddlers. But many grandparents might be too old to handle that responsibility by the time a second child is born.
There have even been some reports that single children in households don’t want a sibling because they are used to getting all the attention.
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