Survey shows desire for 2nd child

More than two-thirds of respondents to a recent government survey would like to have more than one child, the city's statistics bureau announced Sunday.

The publication of the survey's results followed the national government's announcement earlier this month that it would relax the country's one-child policy so that couples made up of one only child can have up to two children. The announcement did not say when the change will take effect.

The reform will further loosen family planning restrictions in Shanghai, which has already allowed couples to have more than one child if both spouses are the only children in their families.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 residents in the city, found that about 67 percent of respondents said they would like to have a second child, though only 1.8 percent said they would like three or more children if allowed, according to a press release from the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau. About 28 percent of respondents said they didn't want more than one child.

About 82 percent of those who wanted more children said that they believed it is better for children to grow up with a sibling.

Zou Xin, 31, who is an only child, is happy that the policy change will give her and her husband the opportunity to have a second child. "My daughter is 1 and a 1/2 years old, and I want to have another child so that they can play together," she told the Global Times. "If they can play together, it will leave me with more time to do my own things."

Although the majority of respondents in the survey said they wanted more children, there is evidence suggesting that not all of them will go ahead and actually have a second child.

There are about 2 million couples in Shanghai who can have a second child under the local government's current family planning rules, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning. Yet only 13,000 couples have applied for permission to have a second child, and only 7,000 couples have actually had a second child over the past five years. That's about 0.35 percent of the total number of qualified couples.

Shao Ke, 30, the father of a 2-year-old boy, said that he would like to have a girl if the family's household income increases. "We can't afford to have another boy because they usually cost more than girls to raise," he told the Global Times.

Shao's economic concerns mirror those who responded to the survey. Of the respondents who said they didn't want a second child, 67 percent said they couldn't afford the added expense.

Even Zou said she would only take advantage of the policy change if she and her husband can make more money over the next two or three years. They currently make about 10,000 yuan ($1,641) a month.