1. China's One-Child Policy
One of the main problems facing China in recent years is overpopulation. The
Chinese government
needed to make policies to combat the quickly growing numbers of Chinese
citizens. In 1979 the
Family Planning Commission of China implemented the One-Child Policy as a
solution. The One-
Child Policy states that parents in urban settings are limited to having only one
child. Parents in rural
areas are allowed two children provided the first is a girl. Boys are highly
valued in Chinese culture,
and this value especially applies to more rural areas.
The government enforces this regulation by penalizing families that have more
children. Parents
with over quota children are fined for each additional birth. Their taxes are
raised and they no longer
receive free health care. Parents who comply with the One-Child Policy receive
money from the
government in addition to their free healthcare.
Adults in Chinese society worried that having so many only children would
cause a new generation of
spoiled and selfish children. Chinese parents as well as the Chinese government
feared the 4-2-1
syndrome. The 4-2-1 syndrome is the idea of having four Grandparents, and
two parents all focusing
their attention on one child. However, Chinese culture stresses the values of
self-discipline, control,
conformity, and working towards the common cause. These values do not
support or condone catering
to children and parents were actually not likely to spoil their children. The
government also set up
numerous early education programs to help avoid the spoiled child syndrome.
Children attend nursery
school and day-care programs from a very early age. These programs enforce
working together and do
not individually spoil the children.

2. The One-Child Policy dramatically reduced the number of births in China.
Chinese families were
traditionally large. The current rate of births is down to 1.8 children per
woman. However, there are
still many over-quota births especially in rural areas. Families that cannot
afford the fines sometimes
feel social and financial pressure to abandon the child. Abandonment is a
punishable crime,
but most are overlooked and go unpunished. Many Chinese children end up
in orphanages or are
adopted either within China or by families overseas.
http://homeport.tcs.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids99/china1.html