Resources

To further support parents in their child-rearing responsibilities there is a need to:

• Establish a comprehensive and systematic concept of family policy in China to support parents and families to raise the next generation in a healthier and more evidence-informed way, and to reduce the cost and pressures of parenting, with the ultimate aim to improve the overall quality of life of the population.

• Explore diverse family policy options by looking at lessons learned from other countries, because there is no single, simple, and universal solution for workplace policies, inclusive parent and child benefit policies, childcare service policies, and institutional fiscal policies.

• Identify comprehensive and sustainable family policies that support families from pre-birth and throughout childhood, while also helping elderly parents and caregivers.

• Address the ‘triple pressure’ that young parents are facing by creating a more tolerant and lenient parenting environment that supports people who wish to have children and by adjusting policies and institutions beyond family policy, for example, pensions, the education system, gender equality, marriage, and other social institutions.

• Support gender equality in the workplace and in households and address all forms of gender-based discrimination.