The financial pressure of raising and educating children today.

Raising children and providing for their education these days is no longer simply a matter of parents buying textbooks, a few uniforms, and paying a few hundred thousand dong each month to feel secure that their children have received a complete education.

From the 2025-2026 school year, all preschool children from 3 months old and students at all levels from primary to high school in public schools will be exempt from tuition fees. However, to ensure their children learn diverse skills and knowledge, participate in many extracurricular and supplementary activities, and learn foreign languages, parents have to spend a considerable amount of money, time, and effort.

Nowadays, parents with children in school bear a heavy burden of worries.

PHOTO: NGOC DUONG

FROM THE TIME CHILDREN START PRESCHOOL

Mr. P., whose child attends preschool (3-4 years old) at a public kindergarten in An Lac Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the monthly school fees alone for one child amount to approximately 2.2 - 2.3 million VND. This includes breakfast, lunch, breakfast service fees, service fees, hygiene fees for daycare, learning materials, supplies, and extracurricular activities such as critical thinking math, rhythmic gymnastics, drawing, life skills, and English introductions. Due to his busy work schedule, instead of taking his child to these extracurricular classes outside the school, he enrolled his child in them.

Mr. P. said that the amount he pays monthly is only half or one-third of what parents pay for their children in private schools. Private preschools have smaller class sizes and more English lessons, so tuition and meal costs can amount to over 5 million VND per month per child.

Paying tuition for two children takes up my entire month's salary.

Ms. Ng. Minh has two children: one in first grade at a public school in Tan My Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, and one in kindergarten (ages 5-6) at a private preschool in the same ward. The first-grade child follows an integrated curriculum, with monthly tuition fees, including meals, services for daycare, drinks, IT-based utility services, and other fees as required by the integrated school model, totaling 6-6.5 million VND. The kindergarten child's monthly tuition, including school meals, is over 7 million VND.

"Both my husband and I are busy with work, so we don't have much time to take our children to and from English classes outside of school. Therefore, we enrolled them in the school's programs. In general, the monthly tuition for both children alone costs over 13 million VND, which is my entire monthly salary. That's not including breakfast for the older child and other expenses at the beginning of the year that everyone has to pay for, such as books, uniforms, shoes, health insurance, and initial health check-ups...", Ms. Ng. Minh said.

Many parents are willing to sacrifice a lot, from money and time to work, to invest in their children's education.

Photo: Ngoc Duong

PARENTS' PERSPECTIVE: INVESTING IN EDUCATION IS NOT A "LOSS"

Speaking to a reporter from Thanh Nien newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Ch.C, a parent with two daughters (in grades 6 and 8) attending a junior high school in Xuan Thoi Son commune (formerly Hoc Mon district), Ho Chi Minh City, said that raising children and supporting their education these days is not simple. It would be easier if it were just about providing them with basic knowledge and a casual education to obtain a high school diploma.

"However, many parents today, including my wife and I, don't want their children to repeat the hardships and struggles we faced in the past – when we were poor and couldn't afford to send our children to school, resulting in a disadvantage in terms of skills and knowledge. Society is increasingly competitive, so students should learn many soft skills, especially foreign languages, because artificial intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly both now and in the future. Humans can compete with machines precisely because of soft skills, emotional intelligence, and foreign language abilities. Only then will our children not face any obstacles in any environment," Mr. C. explained the reason why he and his wife work hard and save money to provide for their children.

From the age of 5 until now, Mr. C.'s two daughters have been participating in clubs such as MCing, swimming, music, and singing at the children's center. Mr. C. chose this option because of the reasonable tuition fees and the potential for long-term participation. Currently, each daughter participates in three clubs: martial arts, drawing, and organ playing at the children's center of the Hoc Mon Commune Cultural and Sports Service Center. Each daughter pays 1.1 million VND per month. In addition, Mr. C. and his wife enroll their daughters in English classes at a center, costing 2.5 million VND per daughter per month. At school, the children do not attend a full-day program; Mr. C. picks them up at lunchtime. Therefore, the school fees for each daughter are approximately 430,000 VND for drinking water, electronic communication books, and voluntary subjects (English with native speakers, life skills, STEM). Being self-employed and possessing a solid educational background, Mr. C. can tutor his children in subjects like math, physics, chemistry, and biology, thus eliminating the need for extra tutoring and saving them at least 500,000 VND per month per subject.

Mr. C. calculated that, in total, all tuition fees for his two children amounted to over 8 million VND per month. This doesn't include breakfast, textbooks, uniforms, shoes, health insurance, or contributions for the children's participation in school activities…

Mr. C. believes his story is not unique. Around him, parents in urban areas all prioritize their children's education, even if it means sacrificing many things for themselves, from money and time to the impact on their work. However, everyone believes that investing in education is never a loss.

Similarly to Mr. C., Ms. Ng.Th, whose children are in 8th and 11th grade at schools in Tan Hung commune, Dong Nai province, chose to work as a freelancer to be proactive in taking her two children to and from school, sometimes making 4-6 trips a day. Ms. Th. said that just the money spent on uniforms, sneakers, and sandals for her two sons is nearly 5 million VND, not including textbooks, school bags, school supplies, and breakfast money. During the school year, if the children struggle with a subject, they find tutors to teach them extra English lessons. "These expenses double because if the older brother studies, the younger brother must also study," Ms. Th. said.

We hope parents will accompany their children with love and affection.

It's a fact that when parents invest a lot of effort, time, and money into their children's education, many have very high expectations. However, this is often accompanied by angry scolding from many parents, such as: "We work tirelessly all day, spending countless amounts of money just for you to study, and you still can't even do well in school."

In an interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper on the topic of parents' involvement with their children, Master of Science and Doctor Pham Van Giao, Director of the Institute of Applied Psychological and Educational Sciences, stated that as parents' expectations grow and the pressure for academic achievement intensifies, studying becomes a burden for many children. It is in this context that the saying "Don't let studying cost you your childhood" becomes more thought-provoking than ever.

Therefore, according to Master's degree holder and doctor Giao, modern education needs to return to the four fundamental pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be, as established by UNESCO in its famous report "Learning: The Treasure Within" (1996). Therefore, parents should be companions, not pushy coaches.

"Parents shouldn't only love their children when they achieve good results, because every child needs a safe home to return to, especially when they feel like they've 'lost.' Grades cannot fully reflect a child's intelligence, character, and inner strength. When children stumble, lose direction, or feel disappointed, be a safe haven for them, a place to rest, and a place where they can start again – not with pressure, but with love," shared Dr. Giao.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ap-luc-chi-phi-nuoi-con-an-hoc-thoi-nay-185251006195525978.htm