Reporter's investigation: Are you raising children, are foreign families anxious?

Global Times] About 30 years ago, "super-life" was still a hot topic in Chinese society. Nowadays, the population situation has turned sharply and the policy has been greatly relaxed. Many people have one more word - "Life can not afford." Especially those living in big cities, some people are afraid to give birth, they are worried that they can't afford it. After they have had children, they are busy and anxious about the related expenses and how to train their children. The network has appeared in China's top ten cities. List". In many countries, the cost of raising children is a topic, which is one of the reasons for the low fertility rate. The Global Times reporters surveyed the situation of four typical countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

Germany: Listening to parents' calculation of childcare accounts

"Give births is not a good investment." A recent report by the German "Frankfurt Report" bluntly stated that although German family policy has reduced the burden on parents, at least economically it is difficult to raise children's returns. However, children can “improve family life satisfaction” and “the pillar of the country’s prosperity and development”. Therefore, raising children should not only focus on cost.

The 38-year-old Franzska is a kindergarten teacher in Hamburg, and her husband Oliver is an architect. The two raised two children - 11-year-old David Di and 7-year-old Theresa. This is a typical German middle-class family, but when it comes to child support, the couple feel as "stressed" as many German parents. Franzca told the Global Times that her husband’s monthly income combined with the tax was about 6,000 euros (1 euro is about 7.8 yuan). Every month, I have to pay more than 1,000 euros for rent, and my daily life costs more than 2,000 euros. Most of the rest of my income is spent on two children.

“Before the child is 18 years old, German families can get the 'children’ gold given by the government.” Oliver said that families with one or two children can pay 194 euros per child per month; families of three children, each One child can get 200 euros; for 4 children, it is 225 euros per person. He calculated that each child can get a subsidy of about 50,000 euros in adulthood. Although it is not a small amount, it is not enough to make up for the huge investment of parents.