Baby Economics: Families more careful about raising size of family instead of pocketbook

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China is facing an ageing population and a decline in fertility. But many Chinese families are still hesitating over having more than one baby. CGTN visited two families. Here are their stories.

Xiao Na, already a mother of a three-year-old, is now expecting a pair of twins.

XIAO NA CLOTHING STORE OWNER "At first, there was no plan to have these twins, and their arrival was an accident. We originally planned to add a child when our first was about five years old, because ONE child is too lonely. Nothing's better than giving him more family members in this world."

When Xiao knew two new lives were on the way, she quit her job as she often had to work overtime. She's now the owner of a clothing store. This enables her to spend more time with her family.

XIAO NA CLOTHING STORE OWNER "The biggest concern I had about the two newborns was the increase of energy needed. Neither my husband nor I have siblings. So we have to take care of the four old people and three children. It's a lot of pressure."

Just a few blocks away, Meng Lixin, mother of two school-aged children, has been through similar hard times.

Apart from the sacrifices in time, spiritual efforts and career, money is also an indispensable, perhaps even the most important consideration. Meng and Xiao have calculated the costs of raising children.

For an infant or child below school age, the annual expenditure amounts to about 150 thousand yuan, most of which goes on daycare fees. School age children need about 200 thousand yuan a year, of which education takes the largest share. For every extra child, these numbers will multiply.

MENG LIXIN INSURANCE SALESPERSON "Education is expensive. We don't really have a choice. School tests are much harder than what our children are prepared for in class. They'll soon fall behind others without extra-curricular courses."

SHI LIPING MENG'S HUSBAND "If the state invests more in education, the pressure on families will be reduced."

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows there were 17 million births in China last year. That's a decrease of 630-thousand from 2016. Fertility rates first started dropping in the 1980s after the one-child policy was introduced, but is still an issue now larger families are an option.

MENG LIXIN INSURANCE SALESPERSON "Why is the fertility rate falling? The current pressures from education, pension, housing prices, all kinds of pressures are squeezing this generation. They are too stressed to have more energy for children."

Many local governments introduced measures to encourage people to have more babies, such as longer maternity leave and better healthcare. In Beijing, many private kindergartens were made public, and preschool education expenses cut by up to 70 percent.

But a family's fertility rate should be its own choice. If Xiao and Meng can raise more than two children, others should have the right to choose whether or not to have more as well.