Looking to a new generation for regeneration

1970s

It's too late now for women my age

Gu Xin, civil servant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, born in 1977

After I gave birth to my daughter nine years ago, my husband and I didn't even consider having another child because the family planning policy didn't allow it at the time. I have an older sister, and my husband is an only child.

Plus, we found it's really difficult to raise a child nowadays. We are both civil servants and often work late, so our daughter has grown up thanks to the help provided by my parents and a nanny we hired. Our salaries haven't risen for a decade, but the cost of living keeps rising. We can only just provide for one child, so if we had two our resources would be badly stretched.

It's not like we don't want two children. We think having two would be best, but the first should be no more than three years older than the second. Otherwise, they won't grow up together, feeling like pals. Our daughter is 9 now, so it's too late to have a second child and help her feel as though she has company. In addition, we're not as healthy as we used to be, and we are concerned that a second child may not be as healthy as the first.

If we were still young, we would try it, but it's too late now. When we were willing to have a second child, the policy forbade it. Now the policy has been relaxed, but we no longer want to have another kid, given all the factors.

Gu Xin spoke with Xin Dingding

1980s

My child should grow up with a sibling

Zhang Xiaoming, journalist in Dalian, Liaoning province, born in 1982

I have an 18-month-old daughter. My husband and I want to have another child to keep her company. However, we were not permitted to do so before the new policy was announced because neither of us comes from a single-child family.

We are both from the Hui ethnic group, and our parents were permitted to have two children back in our hometowns in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. I have a little brother and a little sister - they are twins - and my husband has an older brother.

We hope our daughter will have the happiness of growing up with a little brother or sister.

What's more, she would have someone really close, and they could discuss important issues and share responsibilities and burdens.

Most of my female friends have ruled out having a second child. One friend joked that she would only consider it if she had 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) right now. The fact is, raising a child in the big cities is very tough. Parents are under a lot of pressure.

But to me it's not a problem, compared with the joy of having two children. My only concern is that I might give birth to twins, because my family has a "twins' gene", and if they were both boys, it could create a lot of pressure.

Zhang Xiaoming spoke with China Daily's Zhang Xiaomin

1990s

We don't have anyone close to talk with

He Huiran, office worker in Beijing, born in 1990

My boyfriend and I are going to get married next year, and we are both single children. We are planning to have two children. Our parents were very excited when they heard about this, and my mom even told me she couldn't wait to help us take care of our babies so she won't feel lonely. She was born into a big family and she loves kids.

The idea of having two children comes from childhood memories of my hometown in Heilongjiang province. A friend at primary school has an older brother who always took good care of her and even helped with her homework. I admired my friend so much, and even demanded that my parents pay large sums of money to have another child.

Some people born before 1990 might be a little surprised, and I understand that. We are sometimes stereotyped as being more selfish, lazier and more carefree than the post-80s generation. But I feel the post-90s and post-80s generation are quite similar - we don't have anyone really close to talk with.

He Huiran spoke with Wang Yanfei.