Getting broody? Maybe not anymore. Having kids in the Kong will set you back an average of HKD5.5 million, according to a new study by non-profit group the Hong Kong Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre.
The typical middle class family starts sending their children to pre-school at just a year old, with schooling prices ranging from HKD3,000 to HKD7,000 a month from there on in.
Many parents also shell out up to HKD500 an hour for extra-curricular activities and tutors, and when you add medical care, clothing, food and vacations into the mix, it’s almost not worth thinking about. Maybe look into cloning yourself instead?
If you plan to send your kids to an international school in Hong Kong, be prepared to shell out up to HKD15,000 a month, not including bus fare, extra classes and general education expenses.
The HKD5.5 million estimate also jumps to HKD6.9 million for any Hongkonger sending their kids abroad for higher education.
Okay, so that’s the top tear. What if you decide to flip the tiger moms the finger and raise your kids on a shoestring? The Bauhinia Foundation calculates the absolute minimum cost of raising a child in Hong Kong at HKD98,000.
That’s MUCH more reasonable, but of course that means only public education, no extracurricular activities, public healthcare, sparse travel and only cheap clothes and entertainment. We’re talking every weekend at McDonalds here.
Even when pursuing this thrifty parenting model, however, you’re looking at a minimum of HKD3,700 a month, which equates to nearly a fifth of the median monthly household income of HK22,400.
According to a blog in the Wall Street Journal, “Frightened by the high costs of child care, many young people in Hong Kong choose to raise cats and dogs instead.” Very smart.
The blog also points out that the fertility rate in Hong Kong has fallen from 2.0 per woman in 1980 to 1.3 per woman in 2012. That’s now less than the 1.7 figure in the mainland, despite the only recently relaxed one-child policy.
If that’s assured you that sterilisation is the only way, count yourself lucky. In comparison to putting kids through private school in the United States, (USD4,000 a month = HKD31,000 a month), it’s practically a pittance.
Photo: Wendy Harman via Flickr
