Reasons why young people in Ho Chi Minh City are afraid to have children
Getting married at the age of 25, then having her first child, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Trang (Thu Dau Mot ward, Ho Chi Minh City) hesitated for a long time before deciding to continue having children at the age of 34.
According to Ms. Trang, both husband and wife work in the office, with a stable salary and enough to pay off house debts and take care of the eldest child. When the first child grew older, she often wanted to have a sibling to play with and remind her parents to have another sibling. That desire, along with the consideration of both husband and wife, made them decide to have a second child even though life is still full of hardships.
“Actually, taking care of a baby is not simple at all, the cost is high, so my husband and I are very careful, thanks to the encouragement of everyone around, we decided to have a second child. When I finished giving birth, more than 1 week ago, I was told by some girls in the residential group about being on the list to be rewarded for having a second child before the age of 35. I am very happy to receive the money supported by the state for people who have two children before the age of 35,” Ms. Trang shared.
The issue of aging population and low birth rates in Ho Chi Minh City is an alarming issue. Faced with this reality, Ho Chi Minh City has proposed many policies to encourage births. Master Nguyen Quang Viet Ngan - Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City - expressed his opinion: "The prolonged low birth rate in Ho Chi Minh City is an inevitable consequence of the intersection between economic pressure and a profound change in views on marriage, childbirth and quality of life. The first reason is the expensive cost of living, from out-of-reach housing prices to high cost of raising children (education, healthcare) creating huge financial barriers that make many couples hesitant.
In addition, career pressure and opportunity costs make many couples have to consider, prioritize career advancement and economic stability before getting married, before having children, leading to a trend of late marriage and shortening reproductive time. The view of quality of life, where families prioritize investing maximum resources in one child with the best quality of life instead of having many but lacking children, is also becoming popular.
Also according to Dr. Viet Ngan, currently, one of the initial effectivenesses of the policy is communication about the issue of low birth rates to the people. People have regularly heard about information about low birth rates on media as well as support and reward policies. From a certain perspective, there have been feedback and discussions from the people. The long-term effectiveness of the policy needs to be considered and evaluated according to each specific socio-economic period. The fear of young people today also partly reflects their responsibility to their children "born to be nurtured".
My point of view is that we can provide information for young people to understand the context of the low birth rate problem, and when young people feel secure with marriage and childbirth in a favorable environment for both childbirth and parenting, they will choose to have children," Dr. Viet Ngan emphasized.
Media helps people understand the importance of having two children
Doctor Huynh Minh Chin - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health - said that the health sector has advised the City People's Committee to submit to the City People's Council for promulgation specific policies, typically Resolution No. 32 and Resolution No. 33 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council focusing on rewarding women who have two children before the age of 35 and supporting funding for population collaborators to improve the quality of work at the grassroots level.
These are important tools for more effective communication, helping people understand the importance of having two children.
Dr. Chin added: "In the coming time, the city will continue to research more practical solutions aimed at households. At the same time, the Ministry of Health is also seeking opinions from departments and branches to issue more policies to encourage having enough children and to reduce the low birth rate in the current context of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the whole country in general.
