With the liberalization of mainland policies, the second-child boom was once regarded as an inevitable trend. Experts predict that women will have 97 million more children once they have a second child, but the reality is in stark contrast to expectations.
At the beginning of the policy liberalization, the second-child birth boom expected by many people did not come as expected. Although the policy changes have had an impact on family family planning, many couples still choose to stick to the one-child policy. In reality, fertility intentions are much lower than experts predict, but why is that?
The influence of the social environment on fertility decisions cannot be ignored. In the context of high housing prices and rising education costs, the pressure on families to have children has increased. Many young couples realise that raising one child is enough for them to do their best, and having a second child is a huge burden. In addition, the shift in the role of women in modern society has also affected fertility intentions. More and more women are entering the workforce to pursue their careers and life goals. In this case, they prefer to devote their energy to the children they already have, rather than taking on the burden of having a second child.
Of course, the impact of policy adjustments on family family planning cannot be ignored. After the policy is liberalized, families can freely choose to have two children, which is undoubtedly good news for those families who want to have both children. However, in the real environment, the high cost of living and energy investment make the second child not the first choice for every family.
In the author's view, policy adjustment is not a panacea for solving the fertility problem. In order to truly increase the fertility rate, it is necessary to start from the source and solve the problems of social environment and economic pressure. The government can increase support for families, reduce the cost of childbirth, and improve people's living standards. At the same time, relevant policies should be further improved to protect women's rights and interests in the workplace and family, so as to increase their willingness to have children.
Changing conventional wisdom is also key. In the traditional culture of mainland China, the reproduction of children and grandchildren is considered the responsibility of the family and the individual. However, in modern society, this concept is no longer suitable for the development of society. The government and society should work together to advocate a new concept of childbearing, so that families can make more rational choices on the issue of childbearing.
There is a big gap between the reality of the two-child policy and the prediction of experts, which involves multiple factors such as social environment and economic pressure. In order to solve the problem of childbirth on the mainland, it is necessary to make concerted efforts in policy, society, culture, and other aspects, so that childbirth becomes a voluntary choice of families and individuals, rather than a burden.