As an only child, many adults in China struggle to support their two parents and four grandparents. Most cannot receive support from siblings or cousins as they do not have them. Attempting to support all of these people, many work long hours away from home which prevent them from seeing their family regularly. Often the grandparents are left to raise their grandchild. .
But for some, this policy is saving money " having just one child means that the average household uses fewer resources on children, in both time and money. Demographers estimate that about 100 million people in China have been raised as an only child. Due to this, there is a growing emergence of children with Little Emperor Syndrome (as the Chinese call it). According to multiple authors of the journal "Little Emperors ", as single children, they receive all of their parents and grandparents attention, by which they are more likely to be spoilt and grow up to become "self-centered, narrow-minded and incapable of accepting criticism ", and are more prone to developing socialization and cooperation problems (Cameron). As they tend to be more egocentric, creative, determined and confident, these ˜little emperors' will act as a driving force of lifestyle and market trends within China.
Since the policy went into effect, China has also developed an abnormal sex ratio that experts claim cannot be from natural causes. Today, for every 100 females, there are 120 males " the natural ratio should be, and was in 1979, 105 males to 100 females (World Bank). An old Chinese saying states that "The birth of a son is a big happiness, but the birth of a daughter is a small happiness ". In Chinese tradition boys are favored over girls, primarily as they continue the family name. .
The One Child Policy has pressured parents to abort, kill or abandon their only child if it is female. With the advancement in technology and the capability of finding out the sex of the child before birth, the consequence of having a girl has become abrupt.
