This section breaks down the financial and time costs involved. Much like Section 10, which examined the costs of marriage, we’re simply laying out the numbers here — without offering any definitive conclusions. If you’re already pregnant and need to follow the necessary steps, please refer to Section 27. There are 18 key considerations to keep in mind when deciding whether raising a child is worthwhile.
English, Russian and Spanish use dlgrv’s unofficial translations. Newly revised entries appear in the Chinese original until a checked translation is available. The author’s latest Chinese text is authoritative. Translation revision: dlgrv/HowToLiveBetter · b25fa8a
A child under 3 can receive 3600 yuan a year in childcare subsidy, and it is not taxed. A child born before 2025 is paid for the months that remain. Separately, from the child's birth until full-time schooling ends, 2000 yuan per child per month can be taken off a parent's taxable income. If a single parent takes the whole deduction, someone in the 3% bracket pays 720 yuan less for the year, and someone in the 10% bracket pays 2400 yuan less.
Cost
It costs nothing. Apply for the subsidy where the child's…
Benefit
The plan issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council…
Having a child comes with at least 98 days of maternity leave, with more days added for a difficult birth or a multiple birth. During that time the maternity insurance fund pays the maternity allowance. If your employer did not enroll you in maternity insurance, the employer pays it. The father's paternity leave, and parental leave for both parents, follow your province's regulation. In Beijing, paternity leave is 15 days, and until the child turns 3 each parent gets 5 working days of parental leave a year.
Cost
There is no cost to you. Your employer handles all the pap…
Benefit
The number of maternity-leave days is set by the State Council. "Female employees are entitled to 98 days of m…
It is illegal for an employer to cut your pay or dismiss you because of pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. While your child is under 1, you have 1 hour daily for breastfeeding. The employer must not assign overtime or night work; violating this restriction carries a fine of 1,000–5,000 yuan per person. For claims, see section 19.
Cost
No cost at all
Benefit
The State Council provides: "An employer may not, because a female employee is pregnant, gives birth, or is br…
Count up all the hours spent caring for the child each day, plus every nighttime wake-up call. Then multiply that total by the hourly wage of the person doing the work. The resulting figure is usually far higher than the cost of formula and diapers. That’s why it’s best to discuss how responsibilities will be divided before having a child.
Cost
There’s no monetary expense — only time is spent. For chil…
Benefit
By converting daily childcare time and nighttime interruptions into hours, then multiplying by the caregiver’s…
For ages 0–3, most spending goes toward childcare arrangements — whether parents care for the child themselves, grandparents help out, or a professional is hired. During primary and middle school, the main expenses are housing and extracurricular activities. After that, costs center on further education pathways. Since spending patterns differ so much in each phase, lumping them together yields only an intimidating overall figure.
Cost
There’s no single fixed figure for total expenses;
Benefit
The bulk of expenses in the 0–3 age range relate to childcare methods;
Others may expect you to have children, and that can certainly be one factor to consider. Yet the time and money involved are expenses you personally bear. “Relying on kids for old-age support” deserves its own separate calculation, since it hinges on another person’s financial capacity and willingness two decades down the line. Be sure to also write down the consequences of choosing not to have kids, so you can compare both sides fairly.
Cost
There’s no monetary cost — only the cost of having a since…
Benefit
The reasoning here mirrors that in Section 10. External expectations are valid considerations, but their assoc…
The older the woman is, the harder it is to conceive without treatment. Just past 40, the chance of conceiving in a given month is only about half the chance just past 30. After a pregnancy starts, the share of pregnancies that miscarry also rises, to about a third at 40 to 44. Having the egg fertilized outside the body does not make up for that. At 43 and 44, only about 5% of embryo transfers end in a birth.
Cost
It costs no money. What it costs is 1 serious conversation…
Benefit
For conceiving without treatment, a U.S. follow-up study looked at women aged 30 to 44, with no history of inf…
