| It seems that taking care of children has always been an internal matter of the family.Children are taken care of by their own parents or grandparents,which has been considered a family behavior since the birth of mankind.However,with the continuous changes of social economy and culture,the proportion of parents entering the labor market is getting higher and higher.Caring for children is gradually separated from family affairs,which has increasingly become an important topic of social policy and public welfare policy.The adjustment of the birth policy will inevitably lead to an increase of the number of “two children” families.Under the situation of poor social childcare resources and low trust of public children caring,it will be more and more common for grandchildren to be cared for by their grandparents.Grandparents bear a large number of infant care services.Intergenerational care is not only a manifestation of intergenerational support,but also a specific way of child care.While inheriting the fine tradition of intergenerational mutual assistance in China,it also highlights the current situation of "children’s care deficit".Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,China’s fertility policy has experienced a development trend from loose to tight and then loose,with multiple impacts of marketization and urbanization.People’s fertility wishes and child rearing conditions have changed dramatically.With the continuous extension of the life expectancy of the elderly,the increasing refinement of parenting methods,and the increasing cost of parenting,more and more elderly people are actively or passively engaged in the work of caring for their grandchildren.Alternative care has become a common phenomenon in society.It reflects the intergenerational relationship,children’s education,family development and other issues have gradually become a hot topic of academic and social concern.It is not realistic to solve this series of problems by the strength of the family.Therefore,it may be a new policy choice to help modern families to solve the plight of children’s care by providing support for the next generation caregivers.This paper will try to find the theoretical basis and implementation path of this policy choice,and put forward practical policy suggestions.This study is of great significance for our country to actively explore the social welfare policy based on family welfare policy,to cope with the pressure of future child care,elderly care and family development.First of all,social investment theory,welfare pluralism theory and gender theory set up the theoretical analysis framework of intergenerational care.Among them,the social investment theory provides the necessity and legitimacy basis for the child care affairs to enter the public view from the family field.Because children are the future source of wealth and strength of society,the construction of intergenerational care policy support system can show the value contribution of intergenerational care from the perspective of national governance and social intervention,and reflect the main responsibility of the government.The idea that there should be multiple ways of welfare sources advocated by welfare pluralism theory enlightens the government and society to provide support and assistance to intergenerational care,which is not only the most convenient and effective way to solve the current contradiction between supply and demand of child care.it is also a way to improve the welfare of society as a whole.Gender theory provides the basis for the measurement of gender dimension for intergenerational care participants,that is,to examine the gender division of care activities at the micro level,and to guide the formation of gender awareness at the macro level,so that the "gender tendency" of care division tends to be balanced and reasonable.Secondly,it discussed the correlation mechanism and influence degree between intergenerational care and reproductive decision-making,reproductive desire,child rearing and other factors related to population fertility under the background of the new fertility policy.The " two-child" fertility policy has a profound impact on young people of childbearing age and childbearing families,focusing on the linkage analysis of intergenerational care and fertility regulation,which not only defines the research scope of intergenerational care,but also strengthens the value contribution of intergenerational care.In the process of the derivative evolution of intergenerational care behavior,intergenerational care is driven by the endogenous demand of the family,which adapts to the structure of family members,the economic level of the family,the personal characteristics of caregivers and the allocation mechanism of family resources.however,the "popularization" of intergenerational care is closely related to social related factors and is the product of social constraints.In this way,this paper discusses the influence of intergenerational care on childbearing desire and child-rearing cost from four dimensions: family fertility decision-making,child care arrangement,female "family-work" balance and child rearing cost.to explore the institutional framework for improving the policy supply of intergenerational care to regulate the fertility rate.Thirdly,it analyzes the actual situation and shortcomings of intergenerational care policy support in our country at the present stage.The degree of participation in intergenerational care to a certain extent shows the urgent need for intergenerational care in today’s society.Intergenerational care can not only share the pressure of family child care,but also make up for the lack of public child care services.it can not only effectively balance the "family-work" conflict,but also save the cost of child rearing.However,intergenerational care is also faced with more severe practical difficulties,including the welfare loss of caregivers,the low quality of intergenerational care,the lack of social support and so on.At present,intergenerational care policy is not an independent policy category in China,so it is difficult to regard it as a special policy field to trace the changes of policy content,policy leader and policy process.Its content is scattered in many related social policies.However,due to the lack of understanding of the social value of intergenerational care,coupled with the limited level of social welfare development in China,the construction of social policies lags behind the process of social development,and the government’s support for intergenerational care is very limited.it is shown not only by the lack of the main body security policy of intergenerational care,but also by the imperfection and lack of coordination of the social support policy of intergenerational care.Finally,implement the specific policy content of intergenerational care support.The changes of family structure and fertility policy have brought great pressure on child care,and the construction of intergenerational care support system has become a new policy choice.On the one hand,facing up to the reality of intergenerational care and giving some support to intergenerational care will help to improve the quality of intergenerational care,balance the "family-work" contradiction among parents(especially women),and protect the old-age rights and interests of the elderly.so that the three subjects can benefit from the intergenerational care,so as to correct the deficiencies and realize a virtuous circle.On the other hand,the process of virtuous circle will release "positive externalities",and the weakening of the pressure of child care will have a positive effect on the fertility of the population and promote the implementation of the new fertility policy.Therefore,on the basis of comprehensively considering the rights and interests of multiple subjects such as children,the elderly,young people of childbearing age,families,employment units,and the state,this paper comprehensively analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of intergenerational care for families and society,focusing on the interests of children,taking into account the old-age rights and interests of the elderly,and taking family empowerment as the foothold.It has constructed an organic and unified intergenerational care policy support system,including the social child care policy,the "family-work" balance policy,the welfare policy for the elderly and the public service policy.It also puts forward the policy of increasing the rights and interests of grandparents’ "parental leave",strengthening the policy of optimizing the supply of health benefits for the elderly,strengthening the policy of guidance and support for intergenerational care services,introducing policies for the development of diversified child care services,and promoting "family-friendly" policy design,tamping the policy of backing protection for families with special difficulties,and other specific policy measures.With a view to creating an alternative,high-quality,healthy and sustainable intergenerational care model. |
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