China’s economy has taken a sharp downturn, with youth unemployment rates remaining high. New terms describing the plight of young people continue to emerge. Following terms like “failed youth” and “full-time children,” a new trend in China is the rise of “full-time good grandchildren.”
Analysts point out that this phenomenon is a result of young people’s desperation under the pressure of unemployment. Only retired individuals within the system have the financial means to support a “full-time good grandchild.” This is not a proactive choice but a forced evasion of reality, a collective phenomenon caused by systemic issues and economic decline.
Some post-2000s youths who have failed in their postgraduate or civil service exams or struggled to establish themselves in the job market are choosing to return to their hometowns to become “full-time good grandchildren,” as reported by the WeChat public account “Sanlian Life Lab” on June 8.
One example is Xiao Ru, a 23-year-old full-time granddaughter who has been working in her hometown in Northeast China for two months. She shared, “Working outside would drain my family’s savings, and I couldn’t save much living in the big city for a month. It’s better to go back and take care of my grandparents. If I’m not there, they would have to hire a caretaker. They prefer having me, their granddaughter, to do this job rather than turning to a stranger.”
It is reported that the track of being a full-time good grandchild has been crowded with post-2000s youth. Some expressed sentiments like, “If working elsewhere means being someone else’s grandchild, why not go serve your own grandparents?”
For many young people facing career setbacks, staying in a big city against their will does not compare to returning home to fulfill filial duty. “Grandparents would need a caretaker anyway. They don’t trust outsiders, so why not let me, their own grandchild, take on this role?” one full-time good grandchild shared on social media.
Many full-time good grandchildren have showcased their daily activities caring for the elderly on social media, from cooking meals and cleaning rooms to going shopping, grabbing bubble tea, and practicing yoga together. They emphasize providing attentive service and emotional value to ensure the elderly’s happiness.
On June 23, former Chinese education tutor Geng Lutuo told Dajiyuan that videos of these “full-time good grandchildren” seen on social media actually glorify “leeching off elders” as “filial piety.” These videos are merely a way for a few individuals on social platforms to maintain their dignity or self-comfort without addressing the structural issues.
Historian and expatriate in Australia, Li Yuanhua, told Dajiyuan that while having grandchildren take care of the elderly may solve both social and familial issues on a micro level, it reflects a larger picture of the economic downturn in China. The lack of job opportunities and the devaluation of education for high-achieving youth have made social mobility increasingly difficult.
Li pointed out that the continuous suppression of freedom of speech and private enterprises by the CCP limits the survival space of ordinary people. This institutional oppression is the fundamental reason that has pushed young people into helplessness, back to their families, or even to their elders as “full-time good grandchildren.” The government is not trustworthy, the market is not free, and the family has become the last refuge for young people. However, this return to family is not an ideal reconnection but a form of “silent escape” after systemic failure.
Official data from May this year revealed that the urban unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds in China, excluding students, was 14.9%, with rates in previous months at 15.8% in April, 16.5% in March, 16.9% in February, and 16.1% in January.
On July 17, 2023, the CCP Statistics Bureau announced a youth unemployment rate of 21.3% in June, and on August 15, decided to suspend the release of youth unemployment-related data starting that month.
On January 17, 2024, the Bureau stated that the national urban surveyed unemployment rate in December 2023 was 5.1%. For labor forces aged 16-24, 25-29, and 30-59, excluding students, the surveyed unemployment rates were 14.9%, 6.1%, and 3.9% respectively.
This was the first time since August 2023 that official data on youth unemployment rates had been released after the temporary suspension for further “optimization” of labor survey statistics.
Beijing University associate professor Zhang Dandan pointed out in an article that if about 16 million individuals – including those who choose to be idle and depend on their families – are considered unemployed, the actual youth unemployment rate in March 2023 could peak as high as 46.5%, much higher than the officially stated rate of 19.7%.
Geng Lutuo emphasized that being a “full-time good grandchild” is not a viable solution to address both elderly care and employment issues. Those who can afford to be a “full-time good grandchild” are often from middle-class families with better financial circumstances, where the grandparents may receive retirement pension of over 10,000 yuan per month. This is simply not feasible for the majority of the population. Most elderly in China receive pensions of only a few hundred yuan per month, making it impossible for them to support a “full-time grandchild.”
He believed that only retirees within the system, such as civil servants or senior employees in state-owned enterprises receiving high pensions, can afford to have a “full-time good grandchild.” These individuals are a minority, while most ordinary people, especially farmers, struggle to make ends meet with pensions of a few hundred yuan per month and cannot even support themselves, let alone their grandchildren. “The essence of a ‘full-time good grandchild’ is essentially a dignified way for privileged classes to live off their elders and has no universality.”
Li Yuanhua also noted that in an economically challenging situation, relying entirely on families to shoulder the burden is unrealistic. While well-off families might alleviate some economic pressure if grandparents have a higher income, “The vast majority of farmers have very little pension, struggle to support themselves, and simply cannot meet the basic living needs of their grandchildren.”
Geng Lutuo believed that the CCP’s promotion of “full-time good grandchildren” as an individual phenomenon aims to divert attention from contradictions and obscure systemic issues, leading to more severe consequences. The regime hopes that young people will not question the societal system but attribute their failures to being “not obedient or filial enough,” resulting in brainwashing and fostering submissive thinking among the youth.
“This is both a beautification of reality and deception of the people,” Geng Lutuo said. “The economic and employment situation in China is worse than it was ten years ago, with fewer opportunities for young people. ‘Full-time children’ have even evolved into ‘full-time good grandchildren.’ This is not an active choice but a collective phenomenon forced by evading reality, stemming from systemic issues and economic decline.”
Furthermore, Li Yuanhua pointed out that young people who do not enter the workforce may struggle to adapt even if job opportunities arise in the future. “Because they have transitioned into a retired state, it will lead to numerous social problems.”
(Note: The numbers mentioned in the article are all fictional and only used for illustration purposes.)