Newly married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Cheung, have no plans to have children because of the education system in Hong Kong, insufficient childcare services, financial pressure, limited living space and long working hours. No plans to have children: "My partner and I have decided not to have any children, because raising children is too much of a burden. Many of my young friends around me are reluctant to have children, or even to get married. On the one hand, they are suffering from financial pressure, small living space, long working hours, insufficient child care services, and the waiting time is as long as one year. Moreover, the education system in Hong Kong is under great pressure and I do not want my children to be subject to the same pressure. Besides, after giving birth, children need a lot of nurturing, such as interests, hobbies and so on, and they need to spend a lot of time with us, so it's not like giving birth to a child and leaving him or her alone," he said.
According to the figures of the United Nations Population Fund, the fertility rate of women in Hong Kong is the lowest in the world, with an average of 0.8 children in their lifetime, which is even lower than that of Korea, Singapore and Macao. If this continues, the population of Hong Kong will age rapidly, with more and more elderly people needing support and fewer and fewer young people having the productivity to support the older generation. The low fertility rate has led to a structural decline in the number of school-age students. 60 kindergartens have closed down one after another in the past three school years, and a total of 14 kindergartens have been recorded to have ceased operation during or at the end of the current school year from September 2023 to April this year.
A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Women's Consortium found that the three main reasons why Hong Kong people do not want to give birth to children include: the financial pressure of childcare; the lack of time and energy to take care of children due to a busy work schedule; and the seriousness of the housing problem and the lack of space.
🔹 Insufficient places: There is currently a serious shortfall of day crèche places for 0-2 year olds, which has dropped from a peak of 1,530 to the current 747.1 This has resulted in parents having to wait across districts for at least one year.
🔹 Shortage of child care places: there is a relative shortage in some districts such as Tai Po, Wong Tai Sin and Tuen Mun, forcing parents to look for services across districts.
🔹 Non-subsidized child care centers charge high fees: puts financial pressure on low-income families, especially if the community is under-subsidized.
🔹 Service hours not flexible enough: A survey showed that 73.2% of respondents thought that child care centers should extend their service hours to 9 p.m. to relieve the pressure of double-income parents.
Schools can play a greater role in child care, especially for dual-income parents and grassroots families. It can solve the problems of parents in taking care of their children, and the students can finish their lessons at school, thus reducing the pressure of studying at home, thus achieving a "win-win-win" situation for the students, parents and the school.
The Policy Address has announced a series of measures to encourage childbirth, including the granting of a cash incentive of $20,000 to each new-born baby, allowing families with new-born babies to be allocated public rental housing one year earlier, and increasing the chance of drawing lots for the purchase of subsidized flats for sale and giving them priority in flat selection.
Maternity Policy 1｜Incentive Payment for Newborns
To encourage the public to have babies, the Government will provide eligible parents with a cash incentive of $20,000 for each baby born from October 25, 2023 onwards for a period of three years. Starting from October 25, 2023, parents may submit applications for the cash incentive at the same time when they register the birth of their babies and apply for birth certificates.
Maternity Policy 2｜Government Child Care Service
Provides day care services for young children to parents who are unable to care for their children after school hours because they are working, looking for work, or for other reasons.
After-school Care Service for Primary School Students
After-school Care Service for Pre-school Children
(For children aged 3 to under 6, the center is open from Monday to Friday (except public holidays) and provides service during 3 time slots in the morning, afternoon and dusk. Individual centers may have additional opening hours according to the needs of the district (e.g. on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays).
(For children 0 to under 3 years old, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday)
Community Center After School Care
Some of the community centers offer professional child care services designed for young children ages 3 to 9 so that parents can work or participate in other activities without worrying.
Maternity Policy 3｜Priority Public Housing Arrangements
The Housing Authority will launch the "Families with Newborns" Priority Scheme to expedite the allocation of public rental housing (PRH) to families with newborn babies. Families with newborn babies born today or later will have their waiting time reduced by one year from October 25, 2023 for families with newborn babies born on or after October 25, 2023 to take effect from April 2024 onwards.
Maternity Policy 4｜Priority Arrangement for Subsidized Flats for Sale
The Housing Authority will launch the Families with Newborns Priority Scheme to increase the chance of families with newborn babies to successfully purchase subsidized sale flats. Families with babies born on or after October 25, 2023 will be given priority in balloting and flat selection until the child reaches the age of three. Priority will be given to 10% of the total number of additional flats reserved for sale under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and the Green Council in each sale.
If you would like to know more about the above community information, please feel free to contact the above organizations. If you want to know the latest social welfare information in Hong Kong, please remember to follow us closely or if you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to leave a message to us and we will try our best to answer your questions and provide you with appropriate assistance.
Source:
HKEJ News: 30% fewer school-age Primary One children by 2030
HKEJ Column: Why is Hong Kong's fertility rate the lowest in the world?
After-school Care Service for Primary School Students
After-school Care Service for Pre-school Children
Public Housing Priority Arrangements
Mr. José Antonio González
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ac photo
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