18 Is raising a child worth it?

The plan issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council provides: from January 1, 2025, a subsidy is paid for infants and toddlers under 3, until they turn 3, at 3600 yuan per child per year. A child born before January 1, 2025 who is still under 3 is paid for the months that qualify. Either parent, or another guardian, applies. The subsidy is "exempt from individual income tax." When dibao (低保 — means-tested minimum subsistence allowance) and similar assistance are assessed, it "does not count as household or individual income." 3600 yuan is the "national baseline," and "funds needed for a local increase are borne by the local budget." The plan also provides that "governments below the county level may not set their own childcare-subsidy policy or standard." A provincial or municipal government that wants another childcare subsidy, or a higher standard, files it for the record with the competent department at the level above. On the tax side, the State Council in 2022 created a deduction for care of children under 3. In 2023 it raised that deduction together with the children's-education deduction; from January 1, 2023, both are 2000 yuan per child per month. The children's-education deduction covers the time from when the child turns 3 until primary school, and also full-time academic education from primary school through a doctorate. Parents "may choose to have either of them deduct 100% of the standard, or each deduct 50%." Once chosen, it cannot be changed during that year. Worked example: for a child, the deduction is 2000 yuan times 12 months, 24,000 yuan in a year. If one of the two parents takes all of it, that person pays 720 yuan less in the 3% bracket and 2400 yuan less in the 10% bracket. If it is split, each deducts 12,000 yuan, and pays 360 yuan less in the 3% bracket and 1200 yuan less in the 10% bracket. The bracket is based on taxable income for the whole year: 3% on the part that does not exceed 36,000 yuan, and 10% on the part above 36,000 yuan up to 144,000 yuan.

The number of maternity-leave days is set by the State Council. "Female employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, of which 15 days may be taken before the birth; a difficult birth adds 15 days; for a multiple birth, each additional 1 baby adds 15 days." The money paid during maternity leave is the maternity allowance. For someone already in maternity insurance, it is "paid by the maternity insurance fund at the standard of the employer's average monthly wage for employees in the prior year." If you are not enrolled, the employer pays you at the wage you had before the leave. The father's paternity leave, and parental leave for both parents, are set by each province's population and family planning regulation. Beijing: the mother gets another 60 days of extended maternity leave, and the father gets 15 days of paternity leave. Until the child turns 3, the couple "each receive 5 working days of parental leave a year," and wages must not be cut during that leave. Shanghai: the mother gets another 60 days of maternity leave, and the father gets 10 days of paternity leave. Until the child turns 3, "each of them may take 5 days of parental leave a year," paid as for a normal day at work. Guangdong: the mother gets 80 days of reward leave, and the father gets 15 days of paternity leave. While the child is under 3, each parent gets 10 days of parental leave a year, and wages are paid as usual during the leave. Sichuan, the 2025 edition: the mother gets 90 days of extended maternity leave, and the father gets 30 days of nursing leave. While the child is under 3, the couple each get 10 working days of parental leave a year, and the leave counts as attendance. In 2024 the General Office of the State Council required localities to make sure that "maternity leave, childbirth reward leave, paternity leave, parental leave, and other leave for having a child are actually granted."

The State Council provides: "An employer may not, because a female employee is pregnant, gives birth, or is breastfeeding, reduce her wages, dismiss her, or end her labor or employment contract." During these 3 periods the employer cannot pay you less, and cannot dismiss you or end the contract. While you are breastfeeding an infant under 1 year old, you have 1 hour of breastfeeding time each day. The employer also may not extend your working hours or assign a night shift. Overtime or a night shift during breastfeeding is fined not less than 1000 yuan and not more than 5000 yuan per person. For a pay cut or a dismissal, this regulation sets no fine. Someone dismissed illegally goes to labor arbitration and asks to be reinstated or paid compensation.

Turn the time spent watching the child each day, and the number of times you are woken at night, into hours. Then multiply by the hourly wage of the person doing that work. The figure is usually far larger than the money spent on formula and diapers. Watching the child, cooking, and getting up at night are unpaid, and they still go into the cost the same way. The method is the same as the housework calculation in Section 10. Agree the split first, then decide whether to have a child.

The large part from ages 0 to 3 is how the child is cared for: you, grandparents, or someone you hire. During compulsory education (primary school through junior high), the large part is housing and spending outside school. After that, the large part is the path through the next level of school. These 3 stretches of money are spent in completely different places. Added together, they only produce a frightening total.

The approach is the same as in Section 10. Other people's expectations can be a factor you weigh. The cost goes on your own account, not on theirs. "Raising a child to provide for your old age" especially needs its own line, because it assumes another person's means and willingness 20 years later.

For conceiving without treatment, a U.S. follow-up study looked at women aged 30 to 44, with no history of infertility, who had just started trying. Compared with ages 30 and 31, the chance of conceiving in a given month was about 53% lower at 40 and 41 (ratio 0.47, 95% CI 0.28-0.78), and about 59% lower at 42 to 44 (0.39, 0.16-0.93). At 38 and 39 it was about 30% lower (0.70, 0.48-1.01); the range just touches "no difference." Ages 32 and 33 did not differ from 30 and 31. Women who had never been pregnant had a lower chance at every age. In a similar Danish study, the chance for women aged 35 to 40 was 0.77 times the chance for women aged 20 to 24. The man's age matters much less: for men aged 35 to 39 the figure is 0.95. For miscarriage, Norwegian registry records of about 420000 pregnancies in 2009 to 2013 show the share was lowest at 25 to 29, at 9.8%. It was 10.8% at 30 to 34, 16.7% at 35 to 39, 32.2% at 40 to 44, and 53.6% at 45 and older. For the embryos' chromosomes, a U.S. fertility center tested 15169 in vitro fertilization embryos. Chromosomal abnormalities rose steadily with age after 26. Among people doing in vitro fertilization at 26 to 37, the share whose cultured embryos were all chromosomally abnormal was 2% to 6%; at 42 it was 33%, and at 44 it was 53%. For the success rate of in vitro fertilization, preliminary 2022 figures from the UK fertility regulator, using the woman's own eggs and a fresh embryo transfer, give the share of transfers that led to a birth as 35% at 18 to 34, 26% at 35 to 37, 18% at 38 and 39, 10% at 40 to 42, and 5% at 43 and 44. The domestic rule: the 2003 Ministry of Health Norms on Human Assisted Reproductive Technology state that it is "prohibited to provide human assisted reproductive technology to couples who do not meet the state population and family planning laws and regulations, or to single women." In 2024 the General Office of the State Council required localities to bring suitable assisted-reproduction procedures into yibao (医保 — basic medical insurance) reimbursement. In July 2025 the National Healthcare Security Administration said that all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps had fully included assisted reproduction in reimbursement, and that in 2024 more than 1000000 person-times received the benefit.