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The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

A few days ago, I chatted with colleagues in the company and talked about having a baby, and the young people in the company who have married in recent years all said that they did not plan to have children, and their attitude was very firm.

Not only them, but many young people in life are becoming less and less willing to have children.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

In the past few days, a hot search term has also caused people to discuss, this year's new birth population may be less than 8 million!

With the gradual liberalization of the two-child and three-child policies, I thought that it would greatly solve the problem of population birth, but I never expected that after only a brief increase in the number for a few years, it began to decline off a cliff.

According to statistics, since 2017, the number of births in the country has decreased from 17.23 million to 9.56 million in 2022, and the fertility rate has fallen below 1% for three consecutive years! And this year, it will fall below 8 million.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

Many kindergartens have double-digit enrolments this year. Many public kindergartens that were hard to find in previous years have put down their stature and enrolled students externally.

In the face of the continuous decline in the number of births, various places have introduced policies to stimulate childbirth, from extended maternity leave to monetary subsidies, but young people are still indifferent and resolutely do not give birth.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

Why? Why are young people now reluctant to have children? Is it really because it is too "selfish"?

1. Change of concept

We must admit that a generation has a generational idea, and the life philosophy and attitude of young people today are completely different.

The older generation believes that it is a blessing to surround children and have a full house of children and grandchildren; Today's young people pay more attention to their current feelings, they value their quality of life, and care more about their life feelings.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

I have a pair of friends who insist on Dink, and their attitude to life is to work hard for money, enjoy it seriously, and strive to improve their own living standards and those of both parents, and as for the next generation, they are not in their consideration.

In addition to work, they just travel everywhere, eat at fancy restaurants, stay in the best hotels, and buy anything their parents like.

Some people say that their ideas are selfish, but from another perspective, their quality of life is indeed high. As for the problem of future pension, friends joked: "I enjoyed happiness when I was young, and if I suffer when I am old, it is considered 'deserved'!" ”

Perceptions are hard to change. More and more young people are paying more attention to their own feelings, and having a baby is no longer part of their life plan.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

2. The cost of raising a baby is high

According to the 2022 "China Fertility Cost Report": the average cost of raising children aged 0~17 in mainland families is 485,000 yuan, and the average cost of raising children aged 0~17 is 627,000 yuan.

A friend's baby is in the first year of high school, and the money spent on make-up classes alone this year is 100,000+, and there are still two years in the future? The title of "four-legged gold-swallowing beast" is not a wasted name.

In addition to what is spent on children, there are other hidden monetary costs!

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

Many mothers resign for their children to take their children full-time at home, if they take their children to junior high school graduation, a full 15 years, if in the workplace, assuming that the mother's monthly salary is 5,000 yuan, then 15 years is 900,000, so what about this part of the money cost?

Raising children is not only a high cost of money, but also a lot of intangible costs.

The cost of time, energy, especially for the primary caregiver, is exhausting and very hard.

In the face of the increasingly rolling chicken and doll world, many young people are discouraged and dare not give birth to babies easily.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

3. Fertility is not friendly to women

The School of Sociology of Huazhong University of Science and Technology released a survey of 7,642 people in 25 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), showing that having a child will reduce the employment rate of wives by about 6.6% compared with before having a baby; If the second child continues, the employment rate of the woman will fall by 9.3% again.

When to get married? When to have a baby? When to have a second child? Planning to have three children?

These are all issues that employers have to consider, so there is so-called "gender discrimination in the workplace", and it is extremely difficult for women to find jobs.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

After having children, it is often women who are sacrificed.

To be a full-time mother, full-time baby, at least see the junior high school graduation, dare to let it all go.

More and more young women are looking away, realizing the impact of childbirth on their lives, and are choosing not to have children or even get married.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

4. Impact of the epidemic

The epidemic in recent years has more or less affected many people's birth plans.

When the epidemic is not released, everyone will consider the inconvenience of prenatal examination and childbirth; After the epidemic was released, many people were worried about infection and affecting the health of the fetus.

My colleague originally had a second child plan, but due to the epidemic, it has been delayed again and again in recent years, and now the mind of having a second child has also become weaker.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

Having a child is not a matter of wanting to be born and giving birth to it.

The huge cost of parenting, the practical problems of child rearing, the impact on career development, etc., are all issues that have to be considered before having children.

For modern young people, having children has become a matter of lowering happiness, making an already stressful life more burdensome.

No amount of subsidies is just drizzle for raising a child, and how to create an environment where children and children feel happy is more important.

The number of births fell below 8 million: why young people are increasingly dislike having children

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