Shenzhen boosts child care for young families

A teacher and children pose for a photo at the Sweet Community, China’s first community-embedded public welfare complex, in Shahe Subdistrict, Nanshan District. Photos courtesy of the city's health authority unless otherwise stated

As Shenzhen celebrates the third National Child-care Service Publicity Month, themed “Affordable Child Care, Scientific Parenting,” the city continues its push to ease the burden on young parents, many of whom are entering the prime years for starting families.

The latest statistics, released as the month-long awareness campaign runs from May 15 to June 15, indicate a robust child-care sector. As of April, over 2,000 child-care service institutions were operating across the city, providing more than 90,000 child-care slots.

This expansion is a direct response to demographic realities. With Shenzhen residents averaging 32.5 years old — an age often considered prime for marriage and childbearing — the challenge of finding reliable and affordable child care is acute. To address this, the city has made child care a cornerstone of its annual “people’s well-being” initiatives for three consecutive years, focusing on developing a “15-minute child-care service circle.”

The initiative is yielding tangible results. Parents across most neighborhoods can now find child-care facilities within a 15-minute walk, providing a much-needed support system close to home.

The front door of Treasures Yoyo Child-care Center, a subsidized child-care center in Pinghu Subdistrict, Longgang District.

A resident surnamed Ye and his wife have run a business for years in the vegetable area of HiGreen, Shenzhen’s largest wholesale market for agricultural produce, in Longgang District.

Their daughter is now 2 years old. After the child turned 1, the constant stream of customers made it hard to keep an eye on her. “If you get distracted for just a moment, you can easily lose track of her,” Ye explained. So, he decided to enroll his daughter in a child-care center.

They visited a subsidized child-care center in Pinghu Subdistrict called Treasures Yoyo Child-care Center. The slogan outside immediately struck a chord: “Babies grow happily; moms work with peace of mind.”

“When business gets busy, it’s really hard to look after the child,” Ye said. He was also pleased to learn that the monthly child-care fee was just over 3,000 yuan (US$417.7), and they offered flexible drop-off and pick-up times.

“About 80% of the children at our center are from dual-income families or families of migrant workers,” said He Changqing, the center’s director. To ease parents’ worries, the center offers extended hours, weekend care, and holiday care.

For instance, before the Lunar New Year, when the market is at its busiest, Ye often opts for weekend care from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The daily fee is 200 yuan. If he misses his child when business slows down, he can use his phone to access a live feed and see how they’re doing at the center.

“Our center is a public-private partnership. The government provides the venue, and we manage the operations,” He explained. The center has over 600 square meters of outdoor space in the front and back yards, allowing children to move freely. Since opening in 2022, it has been highly popular among local residents. In 2024, the number of child-care spots increased from 95 to 120, yet demand still exceeds supply.

Children have fun at an outdoor playground at Treasures Yoyo Child-care Center in Pinghu, Longgang District.

In addition to venue support, the city provides a one-time construction subsidy of 6,000-10,000 yuan per spot and an operational subsidy of 360-1,000 yuan per child per month based on actual enrollment.

Over the past year, the number of child-care spots in Shenzhen has nearly doubled, and at least one affordable child-care institution has been established in every subdistrict, according to the city’s health authority.

The Baotian Children’s Day Care, housed in a standalone four-story building in Guangming District.

The Baotian Children’s Day Care in Guangming District is a standalone four-story building, giving it a spacious, modern feel. With 53 staff members and 180 children, the staff-to-child ratio is relatively low at approximately 1 to 3.4.

A resident named Huihui, who works at a nearby company, enrolled her 5-month-old baby in the infant class after her maternity leave ended. “I was impressed by both the facilities and the medical background.”

The center is operated by Shenzhen Baotian Hospital, which has assigned pediatrician Shang Jingcai as the health deputy principal. He regularly trains teachers and provides health consultations and parenting guidance for parents.

At the diaper-changing station in the infant class, there’s an amusing chart categorizing different types of baby poop — “banana-shaped poop,” “wrinkled poop,” etc. — with both descriptions and hand-drawn illustrations to help identify them.

“Babies can’t speak, so teachers’ careful observation is crucial,” said headmaster Cao Jixiu. The hospital also provides a nutritionist to scientifically design meal plans for the children.

To encourage breastfeeding, the day care center has a dedicated lactation room. Every day at noon, Huihui comes to enjoy her “personal feeding time” for half an hour. “Thanks to the day care center’s support, I was able to continue breastfeeding until my child turned one.”

The 0-3 age range is a critical time for the development of a child’s brain and sensory-motor skills. In Shenzhen, the “integration of medicine and child care” is becoming increasingly widespread.

Recently, the Shenzhen Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine partnered with the Xiaoxiao Liba Child-care Center to promote the integration of “preventive health care” and modern child-care services in Futian District. Based on the characteristics of the 24 solar terms, they have tailored seasonal wellness programs for infants and toddlers.

Shenzhen was the first city in the country to introduce local service standards for integrated medical and child-care institutions. According to statistics, over 600 child-care institutions in Shenzhen have signed agreements with primary medical institutions, and more than 20 medical institutions have launched pilot child-care services.

A corner of a child-care center operated by Shenzhen Wellbeing and Wellness Group.

Both seniors and the young are cherished treasures in a family, and Shenzhen is committed to ensuring “seniors enjoy their golden years and the young receive good child care.

”The Sweet Community within Shenyun Village in the Gaofa Community of Shahe Subdistrict, Nanshan District, is the nation’s first community-embedded public welfare complex. It includes a child-care center, a service station for seniors, a community health center, and more. This setup allows both the young and the old to share the same service spaces.

“Sending children to a child-care center doesn’t take away grandparents’ caregiving role. Instead, it gives them their own time back and allows them to realize their own social value,” said Qiu Qiumi, the director of Sweet Community’s child-care center. “We hope to foster a unified approach to parenting across three generations.”

He Wen’s husband frequently travels for work, and she initially clashed with her mother-in-law over parenting methods. When she first sent her daughter to child care, her mother-in-law wasn’t supportive. However, after seeing how well the child developed, the mother-in-law became receptive. She even proactively learned scientific parenting techniques from the teachers. “Now I understand what different cries from the baby mean,” she said. “I get it all.”

Children head to the dining area for breakfast under the guidance of their caregiver at a child-care center operated by Shenzhen Wellbeing and Wellness Group in Futian. Shenzhen Evening News

As China’s largest State-owned child-care provider, Shenzhen Wellbeing and Wellness Group, a subsidiary of Shum Yip Group, has, as of this April, established 117 child-care projects with a total of 4,691 spots. The vast majority, 95%, of its facilities are designated as affordable, and 85% offer specialized infant classes.

Shenzhen’s strategy extends beyond simply building more facilities. The city has embraced diverse models to cater to varied needs, including integrating health care with child care, leveraging State-owned enterprises for leadership, integrating child care with early kindergarten education, and fostering intergenerational co-care arrangements.

These multifaceted efforts are part of a larger ambition. Shenzhen is targeting a citywide total of over 100,000 child-care spots by the end of 2025, aiming for a ratio of 5.9 spots per 1,000 residents.