From Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan's opinion: How much income is enough to raise two children?

Delegate Nguyen Thien Nhan recently expressed his opinion at the National Assembly session, suggesting that the State should announce a living wage level that allows two working people to support two children. This opinion is attracting public attention.

Delegate Nguyen Thien Nhan - Photo: GIA HAN

National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thien Nhan said that "to raise a child from birth to 18 years old, at least 900 million VND is needed", while the maximum support level proposed by the draft Population Law is only equivalent to 1-1.5% of this figure.

How much income is enough to raise two children?

Ms. Tran Thi Mai, a garment worker in Thang Long Industrial Park ( Hanoi ), said that she and her husband both work shifts, with a total monthly income of about 15-18 million VND. "Rent is 2 million VND, food is 5-6 million VND, daycare is more than 2 million VND, not to mention medicine, clothes... There is not much left. Now, asking to have a second child is really too much," she said.

According to Ms. Mai, if including tuition and extra tuition fees when the children enter primary school, each month the family will need at least 20-25 million VND to be able to "raise two children without having to borrow money".

For Mr. Nguyen Van Tri, a bank employee in Hanoi, the couple's income of about 35 million VND/month seems quite stable, but "just enough" for two young children to attend primary school and preschool.

"The most expensive costs of raising children in the city are education and healthcare. Public schooling requires a lot of contributions, and additional English, skills, swimming, sports, etc. classes cost several million each month. Not to mention rent, milk, and medicine," Mr. Tri calculated.

According to him, if he wants his two children to have normal conditions for study and development, not too much but not too little, then an income of about 30 million VND/month is the "minimum standard" for a family of four in a big city.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, in a suburban commune of Hanoi, said that living in the countryside is cheaper, there is no need to pay rent, vegetables can be grown by oneself so living expenses and raising children are less expensive. However, the average income of a farming household, freelancer, manual worker is only about 7-8 million VND/month.

"If the children go to school, we still have to contribute, buy books, clothes, then pay for extra classes, internet, electricity and water... Every month it costs at least 5-6 million. If both children go to school, it will be very difficult for the couple to make ends meet if they work on the farm," Ms. Hoa shared.

According to her, to "raise enough for two children to study properly", a rural family needs a stable income of 12-15 million VND/month.

"Living salary" to feel secure giving birth

According to the analysis of delegate Nguyen Thien Nhan, the draft impact assessment report proposes solutions to maintain the replacement birth rate, including: women get an additional month of maternity leave and receive 6.2 million VND; fathers get 5 more days off and receive 695,000 VND; people who give birth to a second child before the age of 35 are awarded 2 million VND; low birth rate areas are supported with 2 million VND; ethnic minority women giving birth are supported with 2 million VND.

Thus, in total, a woman giving birth can receive a maximum support of about 13 million VND/birth. This support level is only equal to 1-1.5% of the cost of raising a child until the age of 18.

He also said that the proposed solutions in the draft Population Law 2025 are not enough to ensure a stable replacement level of fertility in Vietnam, so there is a risk that the fertility rate will continue to decline.

Many opinions say that instead of one-time support, the State should have long-term support policies, for example, reducing personal income tax for households with young children, creating conditions for women who have two children to work, giving priority to buying social housing, strengthening schools, healthcare...

Many people also agree with Mr. Nhan's proposal to announce a "living wage", meaning that a working person must have enough to support one child, to create a practical basis for a sustainable population policy.

If the average income of workers is not enough for them to feel secure in having children and raising them to adulthood, maintaining the replacement level of fertility will only be an expectation and Vietnam may face a decline in fertility like many developed countries are facing.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan also said that international experience shows that many countries such as Japan and South Korea have spent huge budgets on population policy, but still face many challenges.

Therefore, Vietnam needs a comprehensive solution, mobilizing the participation of all ministries, sectors and localities, not just the health sector.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-y-kien-cua-ong-nguyen-thien-nhan-thu-nhap-bao-nhieu-thi-du-nuoi-hai-con-20251111110221011.htm