Double happiness?

By Lin Qi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-03 09:07

Li Yanna, who also qualifies to have a second child, has always wanted a daughter ever since her son was born two years ago but must consider the needs of the entire family.

She lives with her parents-in-law who provide enormous help raising her child.

"I will have a second child only when we can afford a decent apartment for all six of us in Shanghai. But the house prices are so high so I don't see my two-children plan working," she says.

She adds that working mothers like her also fear their careers would be affected if they become pregnant.

"A full-time mother may be an alternative for a handful of people but most women still place a great emphasis on career and self-development," Ma says.

Because children are normally entrusted to the care of grandparents, only-child couples are also considering the health of their parents before planning a second child.

"We may need a nanny. But it is difficult and expensive to find someone qualified and professional," Leng says.

Ma says that unlike rural parents, the ratio of urban parents who are willing to take care of grandchildren is decreasing because they are better educated and prefer enjoying life after retirement rather than dedicating all their time to baby-sitting grandchildren.

"And also, aging parents will rely less on their children's support as the government quickens the process of old age support from families to social institutions," she says.

She doesn't know if there will be more two-child families but predicts Chinese family units will become more diversified and continue to evolve as they have over the past century.

Between the 1900s and 1950s, most families had three or four generations living under the same roof. The extended family structure became dominant from the 70s to the mid-80s.

However, since the late 70s, when China introduced its family planning policy, the extended family unit has changed to a nuclear family consisting of a father, a mother and a child all living in one household.

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