Second-child Policy

To be the country with the largest population in the world, China has carried out a complete second-child policy in 2015, which means families with only one child can have their second baby no matter the couple are the only child in their original family or not. This benefits both individuals and society in many aspects.

First, it balances the sex ratio. Many Chinese parents especially the grandparents in families prefer to have a boy for that boys could inherit the family heritage rather than bring properties to another family. Data shows that 70% fathers would like to have a second child if the first one is a girl while only half of them would have a second child if the condition inversed. Similar results comes from the research on mothers’ attitude.1 As early as 2013, families were allowed to have a second child providing that both of the couple came from a single-child family. Experts claimed imbalanced sex ratio in China got relieved in the past years due to the conduction of a second-child policy. The conduction of the second-child policy leads parents to have two children with different genders. This balances the sex ratio in certain degree.

Second, the aging population is relieved following that more and more people having a second child. The family planning policy put forwardin the last century reduced the new-born population in a large

1

Mu Zheng and Xie Yu, Fertility Effects on Parents’ Subjective well-being, China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House, p.124

scale. But the population gradually aged as decades passed by. The aging people accounts for a lot in the gross population. Lacking of labor and heavy burden on young parents become more and more serious issues. Families are in great need of new members to be the potential support of the aging generations. Although people may think more children will bring a heavier burden on the young parents, the fact is that they will encounter with the risk that the whole family would collapse if the only child was disabled or dead. Things like this is not rare. Examples like elders died many years before others find them missing starts to appear in newspapers. Such tragedy will be reduced if they have more children.

Third, the policy educates the first child to give and accept love indirectly. Results are found that only child in a family probably has negative characteristics of self-centered or lazy. It is more difficult for these children to get rid of bad habits as well. Parents and grandparents tend to spoil the only child in families for they pay all attention on one child. However, appearance of a second child makes the first one learn to love and be responsible. Elder brothers and sisters may get satisfaction from taking care of the younger ones. They realize the toughness of looking after others and the responsibilities of being a good examples for new

family

members.

Positive

personalities

like

patience,

considerateness and generosity are shaped in their growing process. Tieba, a platform where people talk about topics they are interested in

witnesses a girl changed her attitude towards the second child. She disagreed her parents to have a second child at first but gradually find her little brother interesting. She got satisfaction from taking care of him and removed her bad habits of watching television for a long time because this will set a bad example for her brother and damage his eyes. Most importantly, she learnt to give and accept in the process of getting along with her brothers.

Fourth, families will get support and more accompany in the future. A single child is the future of a whole family. But put everything on the single child means a great risk for families. Misfortune falls to families when accidents happened to the single child. It produces more and more single elders in China. They get little support and accompany from children and live a misery life. Different opinions come out that more children will bring a heavier burden to young parents because one more child means more education and living expenses. It is true but CFPS (Chinese Family Panel Survey) says more children will improve the parents’ working efficiency. This further promotes the economic development through producing and consuming. Satisfactions like primary group ties and affections, expansion of the self and adult status and social identity will be meet.2

In conclusion, second-child policy will benefit China in perspective

2

Mu Zheng and Xie Yu, Fertility Effects on Parents’ Subjective well-being, China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House, p.124

of both individuals and society. Positive effect will be brought to the imbalanced sex ratio and ageing population in China. Individuals will have a better understanding of love and families will gain more support in the future.