China population: reward grandparents, ban antinatalist content to boost tumbling births, demographers say

Demographers in China have called for grandparents who help raise children to be rewarded, and for content that promotes being unmarried and childless to be banned, as part of the latest proposals to reduce the impact of declining births.

Grandparents who share childcare responsibilities with their adult children should be commended, according to an article published in the latest issue of Population and Health magazine.

Li Shuxia and Lei Juan, who work for the Chongqing Population and Family Development Research Centre, also said local governments should promote images of affectionate couples, happy families and quality parent-child moments at densely populated areas, including large commercial districts, industrial estates and wholesale markets.

The latest pronatalist proposals, which came as births in China could hit a new low this year to further undermine the economic recovery, also included a suggestion to address other practical challenges preventing couples from having children.

Content conducive to fostering a culture of marriage and childbirth should be promoted

Li Shuxia and Lei Juan

“Any content advocating being unmarried and childless, or sensationalising gender opposition and fertility anxiety, needs to be strictly prohibited,” Li and Lei said in the article.

As births dropped below 10 million for the first time in modern history last year, analysts said births could plunge further to between 7 million and 8 million this year, further clouding China’s demographic outlook.

“Content conducive to fostering a culture of marriage and childbirth should be promoted, while those that hinder the cultivation of this new culture should be restricted and censored,” the article added.

It also said that there should also be more artwork that emphasises the sense of fulfilment and happiness brought about by parenthood.

“It should help young people realise that having children is not only about continuing the family line, but also a crucial pathway to achieving personal life values,” it said.

The suggestions came as policymakers have started to realise the importance and challenges to change public perceptions, as slogans from the one-child policy era are still imprinted on a generation who grew up being told “having only one child is good”.

With births falling, and an accelerating ageing crisis becoming increasingly prominent, China abolished its infamous one-child policy in 2016 in favour of a two-child policy, and then further relaxed its family planning restrictions in 2021 by allowing couples to have a third child.

In addition, the article also pointed out that the support system for having a third child is insufficient, while the public requires more parenting backing.

Except for the lack of an established system for parenting subsidies, making paediatric medical appointments and receiving medical care remain challenging, while routine vaccines for diseases like rotavirus and enterovirus are costly, the authors said.

“The rights protection for full-time stay-at-home mothers is insufficient, and there is a lack of grandparental care and maternity leave for newborns,” the article added.

Moreover, workplaces generally do not allow parents to bring their children to work, and most institutions have not established childcare facilities.

South China Morning Post