According to Credit Suisse， from the macro perspective， the average annual cost of raising a child from his/her birth to 18 years old is 2，3000 RMB， which is equivalent to 43% of the average income of Chinese families. The high cost of parenting makes people sign that： It turns out that children are the most expensive luxury item. Is it the truth？

瑞士信貸銀行稱，從宏觀上看，在中國一個孩子從出生到18歲的撫養(yǎng)費用平均為每年2.3萬人民幣，相當于中國家庭平均年收入的43%。把孩子養(yǎng)育成人所需的高額費用不禁讓人感嘆：原來生孩子才是最昂貴的奢侈品。事實果真如此嗎？

The Selective Two-child

Policy is unpopular

“單獨二胎”遇冷

After implementing the One-Child Policy for 35 years， at the beginning of 2014， the Chinese government loosed the regulation of One-Child Policy， allowing the couple one of whom is the only child to give birth to two children. “Selective Two-child Policy” won a burst of applause when it was carried out， in that it means for some married people， One-Child Policy is no longer “the incantation of the golden hoop” which limits giving birth.

However， the implementatio of “Selective Two-child Policy” was unexpectedly unpopular. According to the statistics released by National Health and Family Planning Commission at the beginning of 2015： there are up to 11 million couples who meet the requirements of the Selective Two-child Policy and the number continues to rise. However， among them， only one million “selective” couples submitted the application， with a ratio of less than 10%.

在推行了近35年的獨生子女政策后，2014年初，中國政府放寬了計劃生育規(guī)定，允許一方為獨生子女的夫妻可以生育兩個孩子?！皢为毝ァ闭咴诼鋵嵆跗谠A得一片叫好聲，這意味著對于某些已婚人士來說，獨生子女政策不再成為制約生育的“緊箍咒”。

然而，“單獨二胎”政策的實施卻意外被冷落。2015年年初國家衛(wèi)生和計劃生育委員會公布的數(shù)據(jù)顯示：全國符合二胎政策的夫婦多達1100萬對，并持續(xù)增長。然而在符合條件的夫妻中，僅有100萬對“單獨”夫婦提出申請，比例不足10%。

Xinhua net had investigation in the beginning of 2015 on why the “Selective Two-child Policy” was unpopular. In the feedback results， 67.28% of the users thought that the \"economic cost of raising children” was the main cause why “Selective Two-child Policy” was unpopular. After China carried out the “Selective Two-child Policy”， a number of foreign media have reported that for the phenomenon that Chinese parents have cold response to the more flexible one-child policy， the cost of parenting seems to be the main reason， in that raising two children is beyond the economic capability of most of the families. Nowadays children are raised carefully and it is no longer simply adding to a pair of chopsticks. In addition， the cost of living of urban residents has being increasing and a second child is not something everyone can afford to \"consume\". When a second child becomes a luxury good， to bear or not to bear has become the concern of many Chinese families.

新華網(wǎng)在2015年年初就“單獨二胎”申請遇冷的問題進行了調(diào)查。在反饋結(jié)果中，有67.28%的用戶認為“撫養(yǎng)孩子的經(jīng)濟成本高”是造成“單獨二胎”遇冷的主要原因。在中國開放“單獨二胎”政策之后，有多家外媒曾報道中國父母對獨生子女政策放寬反應(yīng)冷淡，撫養(yǎng)孩子的成本似乎是讓人們猶豫的主要原因，撫養(yǎng)兩個孩子超過了多數(shù)家庭的經(jīng)濟能力。如今孩子養(yǎng)育得精細，添丁不僅僅是添雙筷子那么簡單，加上城鎮(zhèn)居民的生活成本水漲船高，二胎已然不是人人都能“消費”得起的了。當二胎成為奢侈品，生還是不生，成為了不少中國家庭需要考慮的問題。

The high cost of raising children in Beijing， Shanghai and Guangzhou

北上廣育兒成本高昂

There is a post on the Internet calculating the cost of parenting， which once attracted many attentions. The post calculates from the beginning of pregnancy， until the children graduate from college， and the content includes feeding a child after the birth， education cost and living costs. The results are shocking. The post shows that the average cost of ten large cities in China is 1，881，000 RMB， and among them Beijing is the first， reaching 2.76 million RMB. Supposing that every family has an annual income of 120，000 RMB， the number is equivalent to that of couples earn in 23 years without any expending. In the face of such a fortune， the reactions of netizens differ. The majority of them believe that it is \"exaggerated\" and “unreliable\". The background and condition of every family is different， therefore the cost of parenting varies from person to person. So how much on earth is the cost of parenting in China？

As early as in 2004， Xu Anqi， Researcher Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences published an article on cost of raising children， working out that parents of Xuhui District need to cost 490，000 RMB for their child from birth to 30 years old. The report caused a sensation of society at that time. Ten years later， today， whose only child of 80s and 90s also begin to be parents. Loved as they were， they will pass on the love to the next generation. When we are stepping into the age of “Selective Two-child Policy”， while getting rid of the high fines， we may face the more expensive cost of nurturing. A nurturing bill of 355，000 RMB in ten years， which was post by Liu Fangfang， a netizen once drew the attention of netizens and a discussion about parenting began. The increasing parenting bills online terrify the netizens. In the face of the choice \"to bear or not to bear\"， the netizens are lost in thought and people begin to reflect what effect will giving birth to a child bring to various aspects of themselves and their family.

網(wǎng)絡(luò)上有一個細數(shù)各地生育成本的帖子曾紅極一時，帖子從懷孕開始計算，直到孩子大學畢業(yè)，內(nèi)容包括產(chǎn)后養(yǎng)子、教育經(jīng)費、生活費用等，其計算結(jié)果令人瞠目結(jié)舌。帖子中計算中國十大城市的生育成本平均達188.1萬元，其中北京位居榜首，高達276萬元人民幣。以家庭一年收入12萬計算，相當于夫妻雙方不吃不喝工作23年。面對這樣巨額的數(shù)據(jù)，網(wǎng)民的反應(yīng)褒貶不一，多數(shù)網(wǎng)友認為“太夸張”、“不靠譜”。每家的家庭背景和條件不同，養(yǎng)育成本自然應(yīng)當因人而異，那么中國目前的育兒成本究竟有多少？

早在2004年，上海社科院研究員徐安琪發(fā)表了一篇關(guān)于撫養(yǎng)孩子的經(jīng)濟成本報告，核算出了上海徐匯區(qū)家長從孩子剛出生到30歲，需要投入的成本是49萬元。這一報告在當時引起了不小的社會轟動。十余年后的今天，身為獨生子女的80、90后也都開始紛紛為人父母，作為曾經(jīng)備受寵愛的獨子，他們也把這種寵愛延續(xù)到了對下一代的養(yǎng)育上。當我們正邁向“單獨二胎”的時代，在免去了高額超生罰款的同時，或許面對的是比罰款更多的養(yǎng)育開銷。網(wǎng)友劉芳芳在網(wǎng)上曝光的一張十年花費35.5萬元育兒賬單的圖片曾引起網(wǎng)友們的關(guān)注，一場育兒成本的討論就此展開。網(wǎng)上不斷攀高的育兒賬單看得網(wǎng)友也是心驚膽顫。面對“生還是不生”的選擇，網(wǎng)友陷入沉思，大眾也開始重新審視生育給自己和家庭帶來的各方面影響。

An investigation of Child Committee of Guangdong Women's Federation shows that， the average cost of the investigated families of their children every month is 2，648.29 RMB. Among them the cost of education accounts for a large proportion， and the average monthly education cost of preschool children of one to three years old is 784.31 RMB. The statistics were proved to be effective even 3 years later. In March 2004， Guangzhou daily interviewed 28 families registered in Guangzhou， and the average monthly cost on children of the interviewed families is 2，700 RMB. From the birth of a child to primary school， the conservatively estimated cost is 200，000 RMB， some families can even spend 300，000 RMB. According to the survey， before children go to kindergarten， the main cost of them is for food， clothes， and things to use， among them milk powder is the main consumption， generally costing less than 2，000 RMB per month. After they reach three years old and go to school， children cost is added by tuition fee and tutorship fee. Some families， in order to let their children go to the \"elite schools\"， even pay tens of thousand of RMB as sponsorship， so the cost of children increases to 3，000 RMB. Assuming that a child costs 2，700 RMB per month， it costs 580，000 RMB for bringing a child up to the age of 18.

Teenager Institute of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Working Committee on Children and Women under Shanghai Women's Federation also had random sample investigation of the parents of children under 12 years old in Shanghai in 2011. The investigation shows that， in 2010， the direct costs for a family in Shanghai to raise a child of 0 to 3 years old is 32，719.5 RMB per year on average， that of children aged 4 to 6 is 31，943 RMB， and that of children of 7 to 12 years old is 31，226 RMB. Calculated like this， it needs an average 380，000 RMB in Shanghai to bring a child up from birth to 12 years old. Since bringing up a child is too difficult with high pressure， 28.1% of parents investigated said that even if the policy allowed them to have a second child， they would “give up\" the chance； those who \"will surely give up the chance” accounted for 17.2%. In other words， 45.3% of the families would give up a second child because of high pressure of parenting. The local people of Shanghai have higher percentage of giving up the opportunity， reaching 51.2%.

廣東省婦聯(lián)兒童部2011年的一項調(diào)研顯示，被調(diào)查家庭平均每月在孩子身上的總花費為2648.29元。其中教育支出占了很大的百分比，0-3歲的學前兒童每月的教育經(jīng)費支出平均達到了784.31元。這樣的數(shù)據(jù)在3年后仍然被證明是有效的。《廣州日報》在2014年3月訪問了28戶廣州戶籍家庭，受訪家庭平均每月花在孩子身上的錢為2700元，從孩子出生到上小學前，保守估計要花20萬元左右，個別家庭甚至達到30萬元。調(diào)查中顯示，小孩上幼兒園之前，主要的開銷是吃、穿、用，以奶粉消耗為主，一般每月2000元以內(nèi)。3歲入園后，孩子多了學費、培訓費，有些家庭為了讓小孩去“名校”，甚至還支付了數(shù)萬元的贊助費，孩子每月花費增加到3000元以上。若是按照每月2700元的標準，把一個孩子養(yǎng)到18歲也需要58萬之多。

上海社科院青少年研究所、上海市婦聯(lián)兒童與家庭工作部也在2011年對上海市12歲以下兒童的家長進行了隨機抽樣調(diào)查。調(diào)查顯示，2010年，上海家庭養(yǎng)育一個0-3歲兒童的直接費用平均為每年32719.5元，養(yǎng)育4-6歲孩子的直接費用平均為每年31943元，養(yǎng)育7-12歲孩子的直接費用為每年31226元。如此計算，在上海要把孩子從出生養(yǎng)到12歲的平均花費達到38萬元。因為養(yǎng)育孩子太辛苦且壓力大，28.1%的被調(diào)查父母表示，即使政策允許生育二胎，自己也會“放棄”生育二胎的機會；表示“一定會放棄”的比例為17.2%。換言之，有45.3%的家庭會因為育兒壓力太大而放棄生育二胎的機會。上海本地人放棄再生育機會的比例則更高，達到51.2%。

Non-first-tier cities follow tightly

非一線城市緊隨其后

How about the parenting cost of non-first-tier cities？ Sichuan News net conducted a questionnaire survey of about one hundred parents in 2010 in Chengdu. The survey shows that the average cost of families of Chengdu on their children is 1，872 RMB. Divided by age， those of 1 to 2 years old cost an average 1，856 RMB， those of kindergarten stage （3 to 6 years old） cost an average 1，939 RMB， those of elementary school stage （7 to 12 years old） cost an average 1，510 RMB， and those of middle school stage （13 to 18 years） cost the highest， which is 2，075 RMB per month. Calculated like this， a child of Chengdu will cost his/her parents about 400，000 RMB parenting cost from birth to 18 years old. In the survey， 83% of the parents thought that the main cost on children was education cost， and this cost can be as high as 30，000 RMB. Some parents also said， tuition was only part of educational cost， fees for construction of school， fees for special skills and tutorship fee had become the costs that were \"more fierce than tigers\" in the eyes of parents. In addition， the food， clothes， entertainments and health care of children had become the major expenditure， especially for children under 5 years old， these costs accounted for a large proportion.

Though it is kind of exaggerated to say that raising a child cost one or two millions， the huge economic burden that children bring to families is true.

非一線城市的育兒花費又如何？四川新聞網(wǎng)在2010年也對成都市近百位家長進行了問卷調(diào)查，調(diào)查顯示，成都家庭每月在孩子身上的花費平均為1872元。按照年齡段來分，1-2歲平均花費為1856元，幼兒園階段（3-6歲）平均為1939元，小學階段（7-12歲）則下降為1510元，中學階段（13-18歲）最高，每月達到2075元。如此計算，一個成都小孩從出生到18歲，家長大概將為其花掉近40萬元的養(yǎng)育成本。在調(diào)查中，83%的家長認為小孩的主要經(jīng)濟支出是教育，每年在該項中的花費，最高的達到3萬元。部分家長還表示，學費僅僅是教育支出的一部分，建校費、特長費和補習費，都成為家長眼中“猛于虎”的支出大頭。此外，小孩的吃、穿、娛樂、醫(yī)療也成為主要支出，尤其是5歲之前的小孩，這些花費占據(jù)了總支出的大部分。

盡管養(yǎng)育一個孩子需要一兩百萬的說法略顯夸張，但養(yǎng)孩子給家庭經(jīng)濟帶來的巨大壓力是現(xiàn)實的。