A lot of Thai adults are also financially responsible for their aging parents due to the lack of good pension system. If you're a single child that means providing for 3 people (including yourself) even before any kids. No thanks.
Yea right...so let's see who's gonna take care of these people who don't have kids and reach old age in Thailand. If the pension system is not going to change they will die alone and miserable.
Pension system is a fantasy. They rely on an ever increasing pool of payers. If people live longer or the amount of payers is reduced, the system falls like it is happening in the whole west. The problem is the unstoppable growth of governments spending. There is too much taxation and intervention
God loves ❤️ Thailand 🇹🇭. It is alright to be concern or not know about what happens after this life. Fortunately there's a way to not suffer, not be in danger, not be poor, not get hurt, not have to work in vain, not have to feel any kind of negative vibe, and not to get tired anymore. Imagine you will be invincible, immortal, and holy with a new, upgraded body to the core! Imagine everyone around you will be the same as you. Isn't that a delightful thought? It's true you or anyone can have eternal life. All you got to do is to accept Jesus Christ 🙏 as your Savior! Once you do, He will let you into heaven during your day when you finally see Him!
i live in Indonesia, i'm the eldest child who has to provide for 5 people in my house. mom, dad, and my two siblings. it's been really difficult to have enough savings for myself. i never even think about getting married and have children. So expensive,and so hard to live a life where you are a sandwich generation.
In Thailand, we say that having a child is a luxury these days. I'm still paying for my daughter's university tuition and living expenses. And I'm only on a meagre teacher's salary. One child is enough for me (to bring up well). No way could I afford to raise two kids in Bangkok, especially.
I would say schooling (from Primary to University level) is the main problem. Most public schools are deemed to be sub-standard. The good ones can be very difficult to get in and private schools are very expensive.
@difencrosby There are lot of public universities in Thailand ranked in the world's top 1,000 unis. And a lot of international programs I used to be an exchange student here at Chulalongkorn University (usually ranked Thailand"s #1 university) However, that was in the days the British govt used to fund (give free grants) to students like myself. For those studying Medicine, however, Mahidol University is the toughest to enter.
@029_rafeehidayat3 You're right. Same as in Thailand. Top schools and universities are all public. Public education in Thailand is dirt cheap. However, my daughter's mother illegally sneaked my daughter out of the country to live with step-dad when she was in about grades 6/7. Therefore, on my daughter returning to Thailand, she could not re-enter the public education system.
I don’t see the rich millionaires and billionaires having lots of children. Money is just one factor. Modern women nowadays have little desire to have children. They focus on their careers.
"my own life is tough enough" Exactly. I wouldn't want my future child to have to suffer the way I did, just to live. Not even live a life of luxury but to simply live and exist is hard as it is.
Maybe this generation just grew up with a larger sense of responsibility towards parenthood? The bar to think of yourself as a good parent is higher, and costs are higher. Honestly this is better than what our grandparents had. Many just had kids cause that’s what everyone around them did, not questioning or caring or planning. Many of them were great parents, but most should have never been allowed to do what they did to their kids.
f you have no children, then you are not invested in the future of the world. You are only on this earth to consume, pollute and then die. So what's the point of your life?
It has nothing to do with current living conditions, humanity has never had it as good it is now as a whole. The problem is the gap between expectations most people nowadays have regarding their quality of life and reality.
I'm Thai, educated, having a good job but childless. I'm in my mid fourties now and v happy, living my fullest life. No debt and enjoy the freedom. My husband & I can travel whenever we want, no burden and stress. We both are working towards a minimlist lifestyle and so far it's been a wonderful thing that happened to our life, being more content in life! Don't care if someone think that we are selfish coz don't want kids even though been married for 18 yrs, it's the best decision that we ever made. Thanks for making this amazing vid, enjoy it.👍
@@sophies6834They will be just fine, let’s ask those poor elders who get put in care facilities while having children and never even get visited by their “ children “ . Children are not retirement plan and if you’re having them so they can look after you then you’ll be in for rude awakening.
The sadness you will feel will be immense especially as a woman. Your husband will probably have a child with a younger lady soon enough. But for you it's game over.
@freshdonkey1760 such negative and insecured thinking!!! I pity u that u think like that. Her husband does not want to hv kids and so does she. You are so jealous!!! Karma will come to you soon
Working women do not want additional responsibilities. Raising a child is no joke. Kids are cute, but expensive and time consuming. The mother has to dedicate big time. I admire those women who can do it.
@@CheesusCruste yeah I see that comment everywhere, men who don't take of raising their children daily will always want more, notice the interview of 1960's Italy, one house wife was saying enough kids but the man who gets to go to office and escape the house shamelessly said he wants 6 kids. Us women in this cut throat career environment still will choose to go to office than sitting at home with kids, they're not going to get it
Having babies you can't afford isn't going to help anyone except those who are looking to exploit your labor and insecurity. The rich ppl are just concerned that their cheap labor supply will diminish. Dont be easily fooled.
35yrs old single and opted not to have a children in my life. Honestly I'm earning decent income for myself but adding a children in my life will put my status quo in limbo. I had decided to never change my lifestyle in exchange for an uncertain future, additional expenses and additional responsibilities. I want to do so much that having a child will definitely derail my plans and goals; I think the cons outweigh the pros. I had already hit half of the life expentancy and the time was too short. I already promise myself that I wil never bring a child in this world to experience the same hardship I had experienced.
f you have no children, then you are not invested in the future of the world. You are only on this earth to consume, pollute and then die. So what's the point of your life?
Lol thailand isn't developed which is concerning I mean it would become old before it reaches to high income developing countries which would lead to more poor conditions in this country . Do those people following koresn culture of not having babies but they dont know their country is just above the poor ones. Vietnam doesn't suffer much then why thailand going this way.
@@pikachuthunderbolt3919 Vietnam is poorer than Thailand, comparing GDP per persona. But the idea of not marrying and having children is also popularized here by social media.
Its not the society, but the corrupt governments collaborating with the rich elites. Policy's are sold and bought for and by the rich elites which makes your money debase faster than your wage growth. In America have you seen last this week's PPI report, wage grow only by 0.2% while the goods sold by producers rose 2.4%. Who benefits? Only the rich
As a 35 woman in Thailand, I think about this topic a lot. One thing that different about this generation is we don't want our children to take care of us when we are old. The previous generation can expect children to take care of them but this generation needs to think about retirement before children.
Wait until you reach 40 -45 you will regret for not having atleast one baby... family is important bro no one lives till 70 nowadays human life span is decreased all we need is love and affection for few days only a kid can give that..
@@tarunika983 IMO the people who really want to have kids do it by 25, 30 at latest. Her being 35 in childless means shes not going to have kids which is not a bad thing.
f you have no children, then you are not invested in the future of the world. You are only on this earth to consume, pollute and then die. So what's the point of your life?
Even if the child do not have to take care of you when you become old, having a child that loves you means a lot. Just do it. You don't have a lot of time anymore. You will let go of such a blessing.....
@@surinameworshipthelordwith9054 Says a lot about you : you crave so much for love that you need to create a being to love you. If between the billions of people already on earth you can not find some of them loving you, then you should reevaluate yourself why you are not loved and liked. Furthermore it is extremely naieve to think that a child automatically loves their parents. Many many cases in which they don't get along very well.
Having babies take most of your time and your hard earned money. They make you more worries than being happy. Without children, you can enjoy your freedom and live your life the way you want.
Working with the elderly made me realize even more how important my children are to me..the loneliness the ones who are childless experience is unexplainable & truly heartbreaking…if raised right,despite money ur children will be priceless ❤
@@sweetla4750but parents also need to be wise if they want their children to be at their side. No guarantee if your children is gonna be with you, they could be living overseas due to job, they could die before you, or they could live a struggling life because you are not enough to support them especially in education which costs a lot of money due to inflation.
I'm in the U.S as well. I agree that so many people are thinking ahead about raising children and the quality of life in our modern economy. I think this is when so many of these countries government, such as the U.S, then try to take control of people's reproductive rights. Very diabolical.
@@miav7160 you just all got convinced that life needs to be effortless and perfect to be worth living, yet none of you are offing themeselves, must be that you still enjoy being alive.
No one said anything about wanting life to be perfect, they just want it liveable. Some people are really struggling right now and yiu need to understand that.
One of the aspects not mentioned here is the "structural" factor that also made Thailand maintain its status as middle-income, the inability to evolve into a sector with better economic growth, as it's also a root cause why lot of Thais (including myself) decided not to have children. Since the crisis of 1997 (nearly 30 years ago), Thailand's economic growth has depended on two major sectors: assembly industrial (e.g. automobile and electronics) and tourism. However, our industries are in decline not only due to China's role as a "global shophouse" that made us less and less competitive, but lots of our expertise (e.g. Hard Disk Drive, and Internal Combustion Cars) became obsolete products with even less export demand. Meanwhile, tourism is highly affected by various external factors such as the global economy or pandemic, and when something wrong occurs, a lot of Farangs, Japanese, and even Malays who would spend for their trip (by their own will or most of their time being scammed) vanish. Looking at other "engines" to help drive our growth: agriculture, which employed one-third of Thai but contributed only one-tenth of GDP and still suffers with a lower yield than competitors (especially rice, even our are better); industries, not enough domestic capital, and technology to invest into high-tech such as biotech or robotics; service, maybe a bit better than Malaysia but much less "sexy" in terms of Geopolitics compared with Singapore. Not to mention that the Thai economy further being beaten down by the military regime for 8 years prior. Without government spending (most of them were paid for salaries) and foreign investments (many being diverted to Vietnam), the Thai economy could hard to find what to stimulate growth. The ones I should blame other than the government are Thai companies. Looking at the Top 100 local companies, most of them are energy, banks, retail, and telecoms which they could not compete elsewhere. With oligopolistic (in the easy words "low competition") status under a sizeable domestic market, their growth and profits are secured without the need or pressure to create more jobs and innovation. While those large companies do not care much about competitiveness (as they could export Baht to anywhere else) or wage hikes (as they could charge us later), many SMEs would suffer from several closures and job loss if they lose only "competitiveness" in terms of cheaper labor cost. Those structural deficiencies left Thailand struck with a "glass ceiling" that we could not increase wages for at least 11 years while inflation rose at 1-2 percent every month. Bringing average income for local Thais (not you Farangs!) is about 7,350 THB for those who receive minimum wages and 15,000 THB for workers with college degrees. Thus, spending is nearly eaten out of the whole payroll. Bangkok and suburbs prices for cheap but not slum studio apartments cost about 4,000 THB per month, low nutrient but edible foods for 50 THB each meal, and two-hour bus transit from CBD to your room may cost about 100 THB daily. Even if you have eaten two meals a day, those already cost you 10,000 THB and you have to pay for electricity, phone bills, and even soap (as we Thais take a shower at least two times a day). This should explain why lots of Thais had no savings (and on the opposite, high rates of household debt), not speak about spending for hobbies, pets, kids, or parents living in outer provinces. Meanwhile, they have no alternative as most job opportunities that provide better pay are concentrated only in Bangkok and its suburbs, Eastern provinces of industrial estates, or traveler's destinations like Chiang Mai or Phuket. On the other hand, the government became not capable to provide of adequate subsidies. As a Thai "middle-class", with my own qualification at least eligible to pay income tax which bottom threshold is earned at least 18,250 THB per month before deduction (that made them pay tax for 1 THB), considering only 4.7 out of 66 million Thais (you can blame this for shadow economy). This means the low proportion of citizens being paid for education, healthcare, and social welfare used by whole countries. Low pools of government income result in adequate services as you have to trade quality with coverages. Furthermore, some aspects of government services had to be paid individually. For example public elementary schools, the average ones cost you about 1,000 - 2,000 THB per semester but you have additional payment for books, stationery, and uniforms !!! which made you pay about 4,000 - 5,000 THB per child. Meanwhile, seeking a better education that later would ensure you a job with a good income will cost a lot more due to hidden costs including housing (most of good schools concentrate in Bangkok), transport (to bring your kids from and to your suburb's houses), tutoring (many university exams require something more "intensive"), and other "social taxes" (to fit in with Bangkokian middle-class society). Even if you had a combined income of about 100,000 THB per month (equal to a couple of auditors - a breed who receive much higher than average income), it became a dilemma to use them for raising kids or saving them for retirement as government safety nets for elders are barely enough for adequate living standards and become more difficult if you suffered with NCDs after a retirement. Even though we suffered minor problems of brain drain (as we absorb many Farangs, Japanese, and Chinese in exchange) and plenty of blue-collar workers from neighboring countries ready for a fill-up in labor-intensive works, solving Thailand's aging problems in the long-run could be possible only with a better economic structure that made ordinary Thai wealthier enough to spend more on elder and kids, and government obtain more taxes to subsidize someone who raises kids and taking care elder for us who don't have though. Better reforms also help us Thai rather than struck into the middle-income trap that made us suffer with both first-world and third-world problems simultaneously, and what our government will do to help solve this for us is a single-shot injection for 10,000 baht and hope our Thai spend more, what a bullshit!
It used to be a norm to have a bunch of kids in our grandparents era and not think much about how their future will be. The mentality then was if the kids can't make it in school then just drop out and find work. It doesn't work like this anymore. People now feel highly responsible for the kids they have and want them to have decent life and education in order to secure a better future. Standard of living in general can only go up because of the need for economy growth. People generally want salary increments every year so inevitably drive up costs of everything. Those who are at low and middle income will always suffer because they won't starve to death, but can't eat their fill.
you can have a decent life without going to university. It's more about having social status than "a decent life'. And once you get that level of purchasing power , you don't want it to get lower. Right now you often make more money and are debt free if you're a qualified plummer or welder, in my country roofers make three times the money than the average college graduate, yet middle class kids pick the social status over the money.
Yeah earlier people breeded like rabbits rather than worrying they can financially, emotionally can support their children or not ! But now as you said people feel responsibility which is a good thing yes they understand that no soul should suffer , they have lived a difficult live themselves hence don't want to ruin any other lives by bringing into existence Which is good.
Not just only for Thailand, Hong Kong is same like Thailand. I have no children because I have no money to pay for books, food and living place when I still young ! Now I am old and can not get baby.
After working in a large city in Thailand, I chose a more quiet place to retire in and that was Isaan. It's interesting as a foreigner to observe the many teenage pregnancies in rural Thailand compared to teenagers living in Bangkok for example. It seems in rural Thailand there isn't any discussion how a girl can say "no" to her young boyfriend who wants to have sex. Unfortunately the grandmother usually gets the responsibly to take care of the child. There doesn't seem to be pressure from village society that the young father of the child needs to financially be responsible for his child though he chooses not to marry the girl he impregnated. And the infidelity rate of young Thai husbands is quite high. These young children growing up without a mother and father is another social problem in rural Thailand. Fortunately the teenager quickly realizes its best to take some type of birth control; thus, having two kids seems to the average in rural Thailand. Note: This is only my opinion and observation)
As someone whose born in Bangkok, does this mean that, in the future, most of the population would be more of lower-class than now? I mean, we need every class for the society to run smoothly. But if it's come out like that, in the end it would only be the lower-class and higher-class only. Middle-class would be gone.
@@jnhkz If you manage to raise the level of education and make that a viable way to climb up the societal ladder, then it won't be a problem. Classes are mutable in a meritocracy.
I am Thai. i live in southern of Thailand. My husband and i plan to have 2 kids. We live far from hometown, I am from Pattani, deep south of Thailand near Malaysia border and my husband from Trang southern Thailand but we work and living in Phuket. We plan to take care kids by ourselves. I married when i was 31 and have 1st child girl when i was 33, 2nd pregnant when i was 35 and i was shocked that i got twin boy. Very difficult time to take care 3 kids by myself and my husband help afterwork to give me some relax. 1st child age 6 years next month and twin boy now 3 years old. Every day is busy day almost 5 years until today. 3 kids too much for me, now they are fighting and making house dirty. i don't have mom to help even for some time because my mom already dead before i married and my husband's mom is old and live far away, i don't' want to trouble anyone else. Take care kids is very tried work, old people should be relax instead. To have kid is vey tried but we very happy when i see their Smily. Very happy when hug and kiss them. Fun time when we have family activities together, travel together with our kids, eating taking and laughing together. Sad and happy time together. Kids is our happiness. When they grow up hope me and my husband we have more time to chill and relax.
Hello, I’m from the USA and recently engaged to a Thai woman from Surin Province. Your situation describes mine in the USA as I was married there and raised 3 children, daughter and twin sons. Yes, it was a lot of work, but much happiness as well, as you say, see them smiling, happy when they accomplish successful goals they make as they grow. I was blessed to be financially successful, and have all three children college educations, and they are all now working in good careers. My daughter has just had her second child. I really give you my best wishes to succeed and enjoy raising your children, and turning them into successful adults. It is very rewarding. Don’t give up, and my respect to your husband who is working to support the family and help with kids after his work. He is a good man. I agree with many comments I see here on the difficulty of having children, especially with the average income, and responsibility of caring for elders. So when I read your comment, I decided to reply and wish you good luck!!!!
@@cosmicllama6910 some kids love mining, they can't mine in real life so they play minecraft. On serious note, when you are in rural, you do must you do to stay alive.
Not from Thailand but the world is getting more fucked up, global warming, pandemics and more diseases, more crime. Water shortage, more air pollution (i live in delhi) why would i want to bring a child into this world knowing he will suffer in the future. This also is one of the main reasons for me.
The reason is simple: there is zero social protection in Thailand. Women have to take care of their ageing parents before even thinking of themselves, let alone having children. They have to quit their job to take care of their elders and they will never find another job again because past 35 they are "too old" for the job market. They won't have children either, because 1) it's biology and 2) without a proper job, it would be crazy. However, many women are single mothers at 18-20 and struggle their whole life to raise their kids without money... Life is tough in Thailand (for Thai people).
Life is tough for foreigners too. People think foreigners have good income. But lack of normal residence and citizenship. Living in local society, foregners struggle there. Enormous expernses for visas, medical insurance, And cost of life increased a lot. 10 years ago I lived normally on 12k per month. Now this is impossible. Good international food very expensive. More and more long living expats leave. Many of them working and transfer knowledge to locals. But less and less people want to stay here, only come as short time tourists.
@@JoSeph-yp5mb moreover that crazy law when married foreigners can’t just work anywhere without any permits. This country is dying in many ways. I advise young foreigners don’t spend time here just run!
The answers are same, "child is expensive", "child takes your time". Do not have wrong impression with Indonesia's 2.1 birth rate. The numbers are carried by rurals in which it is uncommon for a woman to give birth to at least 3 children and sometimes 5 children. In the urban, at most, a family only has 1 child, 2 children if wealthy. It is impossible for a family to have a child with no help of family's member or one of parent gives up his/her job. 2 people earnings are just enough to live comfortably. 1 people earning is just enough. 1 people earning with a child is struggling, if there is a break such as covid-19, most won't recover financially.
@@CheesusCruste i'm sure there are a lot of women with children with the same mentality. Just ask any women who didn't want children, had one, then decided to have another (2 in total)
@@TheMicko27 whenever a person ask "do u have data", it shows that person already has different opinion. You can hold onto what you believe. Or you can just do the survey on your own.
@@tanjongmalim6869 WRONG. I ask for data because I am not a blind follower. I am a data-driven person. And we should all be. Otherwise, you become part of the fake news cult. Still, do you have data??
As a 60 years old American female, who did not have any children of my own. Nor am I married. My currant plans are to move to Thailand, hire a husband and wife team to care for me in my old age, and leave them my estate when I pass. This I feel would be my way of giving back to those who cared for me in this life. I think Thailand needs to welcome people like myself with ease. This way perhaps making more people to populate the earth is not necessarily the answer. One thing I would like to do is buy a plot of land in the middle of the city and make it a community garden/park for the people of Thailand. It's important to make more green space for society not more people.
If you hire someone to care for you in this way, DO NOT tell them you are putting them in your will! Even the best kind of people will be tempted, if you place temptation in their path.
Such a sad life you lived. No kids ,no family. This sound like a nightmare. Depending on random strangers to take care of you when if you would have married at the right time and had kids, you would have your own grandkids who would have taken care and loved you absolutely free. I have my grandmoms who enjoys at homes without any headache of payment or money. All they had to do is relax and grandkids are there.
Free child care, free high quality schools, child stipends for parents who pay taxes, low cost education, affordable housing, affordable health care.....it's a global problem
Subservient to the wishes of the hi-so people. The hi-so people here won't even allow the regular people to keep their elected representatives in power.
Is Thailand still considered a developing nation? I went there and most places have good infrastructure, and very well developed. As a SEAn, I feel proud, and saddened at the same time because am from the Philippines and we are so far behind. I thought Japan is beautiful because, well, it is Japan, but then I went to Thailand and didn't realize how far ahead it is compared to Philippines. Anyway, kudos for Thailand! So proud of you as a tourist there once.
Development and decent infrastructures are confined in capital BKK. Rurals are rather poorly developed and neglected by government policy. Nowadays, some areas of Pathumthani adjacent to BKK still haven't tap water for daily use.
I was born in the Philippines and moved to U.S. when I was young. I feel the same as you that the Philippines is lagging behind compared to other Asian countries. Thailand is still considered a developing country. Thailand's income per capita is $23,401 and the Philippines income per capita is $12,192 according to IMF.
@@superdetectivekidsleague7047 nope I am Thai and living in the border city near Laos. The infrastructure in our city is pretty good and always new. ofc our lifestyle is different from Bangkok but it's not hard to live there and it's not so crowded as in the Philipines.
Thailand are still Developing country. It's just Philippines is a 3rd world country that's why thailand look so advance for us. Our government spending all the money the wrong way
People don't mention this part, is a large part of what's caused the problem is all around the world, young people want to be in the city to chase material riches. There's nothing worse than being a perfectly healthy 20 something and being in a town of 50+ somethings working with them, not having any friends your own age, this is what currently growing up in the countryside is like. If there were 20 somethings everywhere running the farms, things would change, but young people value material wealth above everything else. What's the blame? Probably social media and the internet. Young people have the phones, they see people with wealthier lives than them online, and they want those riches themselves, and working on a farm or in the local factory isn't doing it for them.
My wife and I are one of the many Thais that doesnt want to have kids. Both my wife and I, on top of having to pay mortgage, debts accumulated by our parents, we have to give our parents allowances. Like many couples stated in this video, public education here is subpar, if I had kids I would like them to go abroad or at least have a private education. We do not want that burden and we would not want to wish the same burden we have on our kids. Our goal in life is to have money to travel the world freely as a couple and live comfortably in retirement without relying on others or the state which is meagre. We have so much potential as a nation, but corruption takes a huge toll on the development of the country. I'm gen Y and our generation as well as gen Z's are the sandwich generation caught between having to support aging population and have been put on pressure to reproduce. There was a recent study that these two generations pays the most taxes but recieve the least benefit whilst many gen Xs and babyboomers arent registered taxpayers. So there is really no point for many in my generation to have babies and create even more burden for ourselves.
I went to Thailand alone for 3 months with my 8 month old son and every where we went Men ,women and child would run up to me and say baby!! They would take my son hold him, play with him and take pictures with him. It was like he was a celebrity. I’ve never seen anything like that ❤
I lived in Thailand 5 years and saw what you describe many times. you can always easily eat with a baby because the staff will gladly hold and cuddle them. Thais love children especially cute foreign babies.
Because children is our future so we love children anyways so much more family can't even effort education for their kids so that's why we decided not to have a children.
Raising child is so hard. I have a daughter who is going to graduated bachelor’s in engineering. Many years ago, I quit a corporate job to be with her. I studied every education methodology in Thailand, looking for her school. I controlled myself not to pick her up every time she cried. I stopped myself not to call her every time I missed her. However, Thai people always give me smile and encouragement. I never feel down even though I have gone through financial difficulty to give my daughter the textbooks and computers. I’m Thai. I have been to many places in the world, and I love to live here. I have close friends who are from Myanmar, China, and America here. Sometimes we have beautiful morning coffee. We can openly express our thoughts on various subjects. Sometimes we help each other to cook dinner for our family. Thailand may have many problems, but Thai people are so kind and willing to help everyone.
My aunt is coming back to live with us. She said Thailand has many good doctors and cost is also affordable. Wish you can come to be closer to your family very soon. :-
There is also zero incentive from the government to have kids in Thailand. I live in Thailand, and have 3 kids, but the support from the government is an absolute joke. The current government only focuses on prestige projects (tourism-related), but is completely forgetting about the normal Thai people.
The only thing I see from government support is free milk for kids. We definitely get that, not that the kids are excited to drink it. Goes good in coffee though.
I live in the USA, and for me, having children is a luxury too! I can barely afford my food, so I can't imagine having children, and I don't want them either! I have a cat, and that's all I need! ❤
f you have no children, then you are not invested in the future of the world. You are only on this earth to consume, pollute and then die. So what's the point of your life?
I'll be turning 51 this year, and I've heard that Thailand is a developing country since I was born. I don't think it's developing, I think it's undeveloped. The reason I say this is because Thailand has suffered from many coups and is one of the most frequent countries where the military destroys democracy. Only the elites and high-ranking investors with connections to the upper class can take profit from the country's resources. Connections are more important than conscience. The middle to lower classes really suffer from this. The new generation knows about this, and if they have the chance, they definitely go abroad to seek a better life. However, if someone can't go, they might rethink having children because of the unfairness mentioned earlier.
I'm 33 and I still haven't been able to leave this third world ****hole. I've been crying almost everyday, I have a cousin that went to the states and became a godamn doctor and I'm going to end up another old white man in Pattaya sitting in crappy thai bars all day 😢
From experience, there is no support for single parent. If couples split up, only one parent (or grandparents) is responsible for raising the child. Both parents need to be held legally accountable for raising the child and taking care of child's well-being.
Lol thailand isn't developed which is concerning I mean it would become old before it reaches to high income developing countries which would lead to more poor conditions in this country . Do those people following koresn culture of not having babies but they dont know their country is just above the poor ones. Vietnam doesn't suffer much then why thailand going this way.
Agree! Single parenting is very difficult! Especially hard when you have been a housewife all along before the divorce! Hard to find a job when you can’t list “stay at home mom” on your resume!
Itu namanya crisis ekonomi, ketika ayah anda mampu menyekolahkan anda sampai universitas, tetapi anda tidak mampu menyekolahkan anak anda sampai universitas dan memilih tidak mau punya anak
I'm from the Philippines and I'm among the few who does not want to have children of my own. I'm 35 and I'm contented with just me, my partner, and my pet.
As someone from Korea where the fertility rate is almost zero, I can relate to people in this video. It's sad realities that people decide not to marry or have kids due to financial difficulties. Seems very common problem in all over the Asia. I and my partner are also considering not having kids. We have a cat, and we consider our baby daughter
@freebee172 Yeah 100%. The cost of living is getting more expensive and expensive every year. I wonder if this is a new normal. Stay strong, fellow Asian friend 💪
My question is...when a person is old and retired...like 70+yrs of age, who will take care of them? Their cats? Having a child is important...no one else will care about you later on.
@@Rob-z7kYou think old ppl in India, Bangladesh or Pakistan with many grandkids are being taken care of by them? Most grandkids are killing themselves just to pay the rent no matter what country they live in. And not procreating the way their parents did, only hoping to leave the country. Especially in India.
Corruption still a big issue, tax money, is mostly going in to government pockets instead of speeding the process of improving the country. Ask any local, example: they use tax money to dig up the same road multiple times since covid. its been 4 years they been " fixing the a road" AND the average income has not risen , it barely improved. Majority of locals earn 10,000 - 18,000 baht per month In the city if your an office worker/ managers its 20,000 - 30,000 baht per month
"they use tax money to dig up the same road multiple times since covid" Oh my gosh! That sounds like Manila lol. The traffic it causes is so annoying. I feel you. These politicians are doing everything they can to stay in power and steal money from the public. They don't care if the public is uncomfortable or disrupted with their actions.
@@Zucker2007 Your choice then. I prefer peace of mind, the ability to work on my passions and goals and live my life to the fullest, rather than be restrained into a chaotic life with no certainty, no hope, no future, no success, and a constant money drain.
@@MichaellaSapphire I know! This world is not made for me. People have become very one dimensional and you always walk on egg shelf because everyone is offended by everything.
The Economist ran two articles about this last year, it was about how a lot of countries in Asia will become old before they get rich. The two articles spoke about Asia in general but the main focus was on Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam - the three main developing Asian countries that will face population peak in the next 15 years, peak in workforce population and subsequent population decline due to low fertility and rapid aging.
The problem is Thailand is a country pretending to be rich and acting so. The love to imitate countries like Singapour, Korea, Japan or even the USA in their behaviour. I understand that situation like that.
As a Thai, Thailand has been wishing to be just a production hub relying on the cheap labor to be profitable as well as the oligarchy economy but never has their own technology. This depend on the government vision, unfortunately, 2 coup from 2006 and 2014 made thing got worse.
It's because of China products Thailand manufacturers are Slumping. I think Vietnam is leading in trade and manufacturing now..To my view the Asian countries which Boycotting china products, their Economy is growing fast...
Indonesian here. Our government wants the people to work in factories, but the people are now more aware than ever of their rights as workers, this push and pull is healthy, but not when International companies just want to exploit cheap labour. At the same time, the country has inadequate infrastructure to accommodate the islands, so production is practically crammed into the smallest of our 5 big islands. Add to that the spectre of radical Islam, and you get why foreign investors are spooked.
Our main religion (Thailand) is buddhism, we don't believe in god, we don't feel kids are god's gift but they are actually a burden once we have them our life is not ours anymore but belong to them, we would have to spend utmost of our money and time to raise them for a whole life, it is like a risky investment we cannot expect that they will look afer us once we get old, people in some culture may think having children is a retirement plan for them (to fund parents when they grow up) but we only trust in money it can buy comfort when we are old.
Only region where birthrate still high is in Muslim countries and countries with high Catholic population like Philippines. Only these two faith sees having children as a duty towards God. The rest are just either too materialistic, too soft to let go of current comfort, or too cowardly to bear additional parental responsibility... Strange that most who complain its too expensive to raise kids in this video are all living in nice houses and driving nice cars... so is raising a child really expensive or just a convinient excuse to escape this responsibility.
@user-pv2xy1og8h it is not selfish if it is not a guarantee that the child will have a good life or wouldn't be a menace to society,having children is the real selfishness
It's not only Thailand but a lot of countries in the same boat. I have a family of 3 young working adult kids in Australia. With 4 elderly parents now all in their 80s in deteriorating health, this has been the main added burden to our working family. My husband and I will be working till we are 70yo! The elderlies around the world are living an extra 30years which until current generation didn't plan for financially
Thailand is the closest to the world average for income (GDP per capita PPP). It is neither rich nor poor. It is quite literally the average statistically, the most average on Earth
Indonesia is 2.1? Wow, maybe the reason it's still high is because of a lot of rural areas. But in the city, it's a different story, many of my friends have no children or are even not married like myself.
Yup, gue klahiran 90an awal, mostly tmen2 kuliah yg 50% cwe bru punya ank satu (ada 1 cwe yg merid sama konglomerat aja 2 anak ga mau nambah) sisa 50% cwe masi single, yg cowo paling cmn 40% yg merid. Ini bandung. Tapi tergantung lingkungan dan tingkat pendidikan ya, semakin tinggi literasi finansial ya bakal mikir punya anak lagi ato gak.
Life is a present box. You don't know what you get until you open it. Having a kid or not doesn't prove that you will have a happy life. So many people don't want to have risk and want to rely on themselves as much as they can.
The flip side is that for a long time social pressure WAS to have kids. People even in more liberal societies thought that kids was your automatic ticket to happiness and a normal successful life. It was the proven path to be normal and happy. Still is basically mandatory in many religious communities. Kids were just presented as buying a fancy car and getting a house.
LMAO at the sarcastic joke🤣. Thailand indeed is a declinig population and aging 3rd World Country. Its Monicker is " The Country that got OLD before It got RICH "
@@happyteachersday5283 are you weeding bro.. it's still a developing country you are sketching only a small part Distorting the reality of the country..
almost young people these days chose not to have kids even me I am 36 years old now and I prefer not to have kids it is really expensive now a days only the rich are privilege to have one. For me If I cant afford to have kids I rather grow old alone. I can’t handle to see my future kids struggle financially that is the reality not just in Thailand but around the world.
I was born in Bangkok in the late seventies (I’m a dude). This year I’ll be 47 & out of 7 close friends (all dudes - but 2 of those came out as being Gay in their 20s) only myself have a children…and even that I kept postponing until I was 38. My close cousins whom I grew up with only myself and my younger brother have children (each has a single child). No one talks about having children anymore (at least those who were born and raised in Bangkok). I cannot speak for people from different regions in Thailand but Bangkok has become extremely expensive for Thais and we don’t want to bring out the next generation to face to this very poor & inferior environment. Anyone who says Bangkok is amazing place to live you were not born and raised here. We all want to get out….if we only could…
Many people from the provinces are moving to the big cities for job opportunities. Big Cities around the world are known to have very low birthrates. Big Cities are a magnet for the young generation. Eventually, big city life will be a major contributor to societal collapse.
Not only thailand, singapore korea japan and many countries all low birth rates for 1 simple reason Money. Things are getting expensive and the world is really getting into bad shape heatwaves in asia and floods in western countries. Is it really worth to create a innocent human in this world now?
It is not wise to have a child born in this world, which is why we all need to preach and practice antinatalism to end all these bullshit. Humans are selfish by nature . Humans created all these problems, I will not be surprise many countries around the world will collapse . I am in for antinatalism. If I have a choice , I would rather not be born in this world in the first place.
Lol thailand isn't developed which is concerning I mean it would become old before it reaches to high income developing countries which would lead to more poor conditions in this country . Do those people following koresn culture of not having babies but they dont know their country is just above the poor ones. Vietnam doesn't suffer much then why thailand going this way.
@@pikachuthunderbolt3919so its all about the country. What about the people? Who cares if a country is rich or poor. Just because japan is rich does not mean everyone is rich
According to me, a sweet, happy small family life is far more better than a luxurious alone life....😊 Wish you a very happy life....🥰 Take lots of love from India 🇮🇳
Lol thailand isn't developed which is concerning I mean it would become old before it reaches to high income developing countries which would lead to more poor conditions in this country . Do those people following koresn culture of not having babies but they dont know their country is just above the poor ones. Vietnam doesn't suffer much then why thailand going this way.
A cost of raising a kid with good environment and education is too high. Furthermore a lots of Thai people wants to be high educated and get a high salary for make sure that they’re prepared for having a kid. They’ve seen a lot of children who raised with unprepared parents and bad environments from social in bad way that’s one of reasons why they have to make sure. Because they doesn’t want their children to suffer like they did in the past. In my opinion as a Thai the main reason is literally financial. The cost of living gains every year even in countryside the cost is higher as well.
A falling birth rate would only be bad news to economists who want an ever-rising population in a finite world. Maybe it's good news that lots of people aren't reproducing. That will just mean we will have more elders than younger people, and the younger people will inherit more assets from the older generation. Imagine this: the youth generation will inherit assets not only from the parents and grandparents, people of the direct lineage, but also people of the side branches, because they have no descendants.
Here we go again with blaming every capitalist or economist out there. That is not the problem. The problem is birth rate falling too fast too quickly, before even welfare programs from the government becomes established enough. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Nordic ones might handle this better as their socialist policies now have a more solid foundation. That would not have happened if they didn’t grow fast enough from their previous economic boom and capitalistic policies. Ironic isn’t it? So no, it is not realistic to say that the goal is to have infinite population growth. It is already a given that human population will stagnate eventually. The goal is to dampen how quick that population declines.
A lot of people say you'll regret not having kids when you get old. I think the kids will regret it more, having to take care of the old ones in the future. It's stupid to create more life; most people only suffer in this stupid world.
Tawatchai's part of the video made my eyes water. Gosh, if I were to become poor and hadn't planned my finances well enough, I would do the same thing he is doing, rather than be a burden on my family. I would work until the end of my life instead of dragging my family down, and that's without having any kids. Thailand nowadays is getting worse and worse. Even the air we breathe here in Bangkok requires us to buy purifiers from China. Imagine living a life where you even have to purchase the air you breathe. Having a kid? Haha, you've got to be kidding me.
Thailand doesn't seem like a 'developing country' from most people appearing in this program, tho. It makes me think the real problem is the class divisions within Thai society.
The region with the highest birth rates is the poorest region in Thailand. They don't think too much about the living standards or the future. The middle class is the one who chooses not to have kids.
It's a worldwide trend now. Europe, East Asia are already in, South and North American are following the trend too. And it seems birth rate is decreasing pretty much everywhere
It has started with my generation who was born in the 1970s onwards. 30% of my girlfriends don't have children. Can you blame us? One of the most beautiful peaceful country on earth but our system failed us terribly. We could have been a country with peaceful and prosperity.
@@Deandre-j6h Unlike North Americans and some European countries, Thai people don't get subsidiary housing and money from government. We can't keep having children and asking government for handouts. You call it selfish, I call it responsible.
I've lived in Thailand almost 20 years, and my wife and I have a 12-year-old daughter. At the school she attends, nearly every other student lives with a single parent, or more likely, with grandparents. One of my daughter's classmate hasn't seen her parents in 10 years. In my opinion, this is a disaster. Kids need their parents -- both of them.
An educated child can support himself as an adult and mayby help the family. An uneducated child will have financial problems as an adult and will probably be a burden on the parents and need support. It is logical for parents to focus their time and money on one child and not to split it on many children. Better to raise one child good than to choose to raise several in poverty.
Wages are low, jobs are scarce... and becoming scarcer. The job market is so competitive, that during lockdown related layoffs, some places fired their current staff to hire applicants that were coming out of positions that clearly required a better work ethic. Meaning, some folks are WAAAY over-qualified for the jobs they have! But they are grateful to just have work at all! (and afraid to have children... or, more children.)
We are here in the provinces in the Philippines..i have 4 children the ljoy of my life ..they went to public schools learned well ,blessed with scholarships and hardworking ..more than blessings to me these children i cannot ask for more ..grateful to God ,everyday..
Actually some are drawn by the society peer pressure for commitment towards nice house and cars and lifestyle rathwr than willing to sacrifice for children like our parents did. Media socials show so many indulgence that many couldn't resist. So then the reason is financial burden. But bringing a new life to a world with so high pollutions, stress, economic uncertainty...all these also bring uncertainty future for children in future.
As a working adult in my thirties, and now single, the idea of having a baby begins to fade away as time goes by. In my previous relationship, I remember having many conversations with my ex-girlfriend about whether we should have kids, but we never really had a clear answer for that. Though my job in Bangkok is quite stable with a decent salary, still I have to carefully plan ahead for my savings, investments (if possible), and how much I would be able to afford life after retirement. There is no pension like my parent's generations despite working in a governmental sector. Being a public servant no longer guarantees this. (That's part of the new policy I believe). Now, the idea of having kids doesn't even come to my mind, let alone being in any serious relationship. My priorities now are being as debt-free as possible (not buying a house or a condominium, or even a car), so I'm planning to rent a room close to my workplace. After retirement, I most likely go back to my hometown where I grew up.
This covers so many angles. The struggle to pay bills, to pay for the expenses attached to having kids, what happens when you have no kids and there's nobody to care for you as you age....... the impact lower population has on business.... WOW.... You don't think about this when you hear folks not wanting to have kids. I have 5 from 6 years to 20 and it's been a struggle. As I see more of me in them it was worth it. I can also see why others would prioritize their financial freedom. Blessings to all and the choices you make 😊
Considering we are literally running out of food (arable land) on Earth, it's good every nation from west to east, participates in the population reduction project without war. Remember, it's better to be a great uncle or aunt to your sibling than a lousy parent
It is not true capitalism that ruined Thailand. It is a truly biased marketplace especially in Thailand (corruption and bias by those in leadership) but also imbalanced by the wrongs in the world markets going on for many decades. Thailand should have decades ago been a developed country by now but it has been stymied by so much.
Thailand and Malaysia has the same fate. The system is still not functioning forward ⏩. Look at tourism and gas production a lot but it's economy is slowing. corruption is blatant, it's economy is run by oligarchs. Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam are correcting it's system and move forward.
Maybe you’re talking about the birthrate of Malaysian Chinese and Indian. The Malays have no problem giving birth and have children - most of my Malay friends are married and have 2-3 children the least. And they love children so they never see the children as burden but certain things must be sacrificed. They send their children to public school, no overseas vacation, dual income and certainly not as well off as the Chinese and Indians here.
I was born in Thailand, sad to say, but lots of gay men in Thailand too. Some people just don't want children as it's too expensive and some just can't have any.
I live in Thailand, though I'm from London originally. The quoted cost of $550,000 USD for a Private education in an International School is way way off. Our 6 year old goes to an International School in Chiang Mai, and the costs is less than $3,500 USD per year, so times that by 12 and you're still coming in at less than $45k USD
all the private schools in chonburi area are around 25k$ a year, they start at 3 and finish at 18. But you're still right because they're talking about the abolute top schools, Plenty of great schools around that cost around 3,5k indeed.
No... it is bad. Middle income is a class in which go to lower income if there is a major issue. A lot of middle incomes become lower income when covid struck and now a lot are in debt. Now they are working to pay debt from covid. In macro economy, the GDP is same because they keep spending the money but in micro economy, they spend on debt paying instead or consumption. It is what you call as middle income trap. They are trapped in the middle because they can't get more and beat inflations.
@@joewelsunga6205 Factually incorrect. They have the largest middle income group in the world, arguably thanks to communism. You are refereeing to India perhaps? where 70% still do not have a toilet.
7:00 sadly I think cats are more time consuming then kids. What people don’t see is the life as an old person. We all turn back into babies. The only difference is that when we are born we had someone. And this generation, hopefully the robots are here by then!
My parents had my brother and I. Both worked full time so hired 1-2 full time helpers (nanny and housekeeping responsibilities). And my mom had friends that were more well-to-do, so she took on debt to keep up appearances. Why would I do that to myself?
This is more and more important as companies and countries look to Thailand as an alternative to China. If it takes 10 years to fully build a factory, manufacturing plant, processing plant, etc. complete with supply and logistical hubs, then countries and companies are literally counting how many 4- to 10-year-olds running around: They will be the 14- to 20-year-olds that will be working and/or learning to work when everything is built. Thailand, China, Singapore, Japan and much of Europe are just the canary in the coal mine to what EVERYONE will be experiencing over the next 30 years including the USA.
Absolutely. Most of us are public schooled and are doing good. A friend of mine was enrolled into even a lower level of public or primary school but she managed to get into medical field because of her wit and education. Private school is nothing but a breeding spot of untitled spoiled brat.
I’m LGBTQ but I am glad my company is somewhat pro-family oriented. There are benefits for families like health insurance, scholarships, maternal and paternal leave, and there are many couples in the company. It has always believed that a strong family is the foundation for a progressive and sustainable future for Thailand. For that I am grateful.
It just dawned on me that in Chiang Mai, especially the old town you almost never see kids walking around, only adults now its mostly tourists and young adults but you honestly never see any kids running around. Also, among the Thai girls I know most of them dont want to have kids because it is expensive
Many younger people go to Bangkok for better opportunities. Big Cities around the world are known to have extremely low fertility rates....More people in big cities = less children for the future.
The people of the world have become more selfish. Too selfish for children. They use reasons like "I can't afford children", "life is hard" but truth is they're selfish and only care about their own wealth and status.
Knowledge and luxury has gotten us to this point all over the world. When people didn't know better they kept having kids. With more luxury kids would get in our way so here we are.
GDP growth that comes with population growth doesn’t mean much, because for example if your GDP growth is below population growth, an individual’s quality of life would still be falling. You need to grow and improve the quality of life for the existing people in the country…which Thailand government in the last 2 decades failed to do so.
In the U.S. a child can be raised to the age of 18 for only $250,000. If that child goes on to college you might add another $150,000. So to have two children you may want to save up a $1,000,000 during your early working years before you start to have children.
