China population: reward grandparents, ban antinatalist content to boost tumbling births, demographers say
- Births in China dropped below 10 million for the first time in modern history last year, with various approaches to address the issue already implemented
- And as births could plunge further to as low as 7 million this year, recognising grandparents who help raise children and promotional activities have been suggested
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.
Content conducive to fostering a culture of marriage and childbirth should be promoted
A myriad of approaches have already been suggested for how China can boost its dangerously low birth rate after its population suffered a first decline in more than six decades last year.
“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.
“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.