As the global economy deteriorates, the median family wealth falls dramatically, and the cost of raising children becomes more and more expensive. Parents are forced to plan their families and have only the children whom they can care for. The cost of bringing up a child stretches beyond food, shelter, clothing, education, health care, and transport. With the increase in the cost of food, gas, health care, education, and so on, child rearing becomes even more expensive. The overall impact is a decrease in family size. This paper analyzes the family size in two countries, Australia and Saudi Arabia. In particular, it compares the laws and policies relating to family support in the selected countries, and evaluates the effectiveness of these laws. The findings reveal that; despite the small family size in Australia, family support is more developed and effective as compared to Saudi Arabia.
Family payments system
Family size has been, and still is, a critical issue in most countries as the governments try to regulate the sizes of families. Different countries have different policies that either encourage or discourage large families. For instance, Australia has recognized the complexities in child rearing and has developed family policies that relieve parents from some family burdens. Saudi Arabia does not provide most of these benefits. Family payments system has been adopted in Australia, with Family Tax Benefit as the core (Gray et al., 2008). Family payments system is made up of five key benefits: Family Tax Benefits Part A (FTB Part A), Family Tax Benefit Part B (FTB Part B), Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR), Baby Bonus (BB), and Maternity Immunisation Allowance (MIA) (Gray et al., 2008). The payments system has not been developed or adopted in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, child rearing is a sole responsibility of the parents.
In Australia, FTB Part A is two-tiered and is influenced by the age and number of the children. FTB Part B provides extra help to the families with only one main source of income. This payment is given regardless of whether there are either two parents or sole parent. CCB and CCR help families with the health care costs for children, while BB (or the Maternity Payment) assists families who have just given birth to or adopted a child. Finally, MIA encourages the immunization of children between the age of 18 months and 24 months. These benefits do not apply in Saudi Arabia.
Family Tax Benefits
A Family that receives FTB Part A is also eligible to some additional benefits including, but not limited, to Rent Assistance (only for private renters), Multiple Birth Allowance (which is given for the birth of more than one child e.g. triplets), and the Large Family Supplement (this is given for the third child and the subsequent children). Only the highest income parents are not considered by the base Family Tax Benefit Part A rate. For families with comparatively low income, supplementary payment is given as part of the Family Tax Benefit Part A. This is to make sure that low income parents have adequate money to provide for and adequately sustain their children. FTB Part A payments are for every child.
The Family Tax Benefit Part B is meant to provide additional support to either single-parent families or paired-parent (coupled) families where only one parent is the major income earner. It is determined by the youngest child’s age, and not paid for each child, unlike FTB Part A which is determined by the number and age of the children and paid for every child. The payment is tested on the earnings of parent with the lower income. However, for single parents, the income test is not applicable. In Saudi Arabia, the parents do not enjoy the Family Tax Benefits.
Child Care Benefits (CCB)
Australian parents are assisted with the costs of child care in the form of CCB. Child Care Benefit is paid based on the number hours of care spent in registered or approved child care centers. Currently, the payment is made at a maximum rate of $3.37 per hour to cater for the children who have not started schooling, and it applies to the families with income less than $35,478 or the families who are receiving the support payments (Gray et al., 2008). There is also an additional assistance provided by Child Care Tax Rebate. This covers 30% of the expenses which are paid for the approved care, subtracting any Child Care Benefit received. The maximum payable amount per child is $4,354 per year. The rebate was effective from July 1, 2004, and is received once when the tax year ends (after the completion of one year of full eligibility for Child Care Benefit) (Gray et al., 2008). In Saudi Arabia, Child Care Benefits do not apply.
Baby Bonus
In Australia, Baby Bonus (BB) is given to families that have given birth to or adopted a baby. The payment can be made to the baby’s parents; the family that has cared for the baby within the first thirteen weeks of the birth of the child, or the family that is likely to care for the baby for at least 13 weeks; or, the family that has adopted a baby before the baby reaches two years in age. In case the adoption is done overseas, the family is entitled to the Baby Bonus if the baby is brought to Australia before the child’s second birthday. Payment is given at once, a total of $4,133. In case of multiple births, payment is made for every child (i.e. $8,266 for twins, 12, 399 for triplets, and so on). For the Baby Bonus, the income test or asset test does not apply. Baby Bonus was adopted in 2004-2005 financial year at $3,000. In 2008, it was raised to $5,000 for children born after July 1, 2008. Baby Bonus is not available in Saudi Arabia.
Other Family Support Methods
Besides the family payments system, other methods of supporting family sizes include parenting payment and parental leave (Maternity leave, paternity leave, or both).
Parenting payment
Australia has well developed parenting payment system. The payment is for both partnered parents and sole parents. However, it can only be paid to one parent. Newstart Allowance is an alternative income support for unemployed people and may be paid to the other parent. From July 1, 2006, parents who went for Parenting Payment (Partnered) are entitled to the payment until their youngest child becomes six years old. The parents then need to test their eligibility for another support once the youngest child is above six years, if they still need such support. From July 1, 2006, parents who went for Parenting Payment (Single) are entitled to the payment until their youngest child becomes eight years old. Such parents may also test their eligibility for other income support systems if they still need them. For those who started benefiting from the Parenting Payment before July 2006, they shall continue receiving their payments until their youngest child becomes sixteen years old. In Saudi Arabia, the parenting payment system is not applicable. However, unemployment allowance is normally available to support the unemployed, whether parents or otherwise.
Parental Leave
In Australia, parents are entitled to a parental leave for a maximum of 52 weeks, which can be given to parents who have given birth or adopted a child, and is available to people who have worked continuously for a period of not less than 12 months. Parental leave is unpaid, and there isn’t any statutory right to the paid parental leave. However, employees can always negotiate with their employers for the payment of the parental leave. Saudi Arabia only has a maternity leave of 6 weeks, and a paternity leave of 1 day. Child care support is offered by the employer, and no policies have been implemented on the same.
Other supports available to families in Australia include free education, huge-billing of the fundamental medical services, and the concession cards which allows families with low income to receive some types of services and products at reduced cost, such as pharmaceuticals and public transport. In Saudi Arabia, the available support is free education system at all levels.
Analysis
Research findings reveal that, in Australia, most people want to have children. According to a national survey in 2004 by the Fertility Decision Making Project (FDMP), two-child families were found to be the most popular, followed by three-child families (Gray et al., 2008). Families with four or more children were more popular than families without children or with only one child. The study further found that the decision to have children and the number of the children highly depends on the capacity to support the child financially and the ability of each partner to be a good parent (Gray et al., 2008). Other factors included the age of the female partner and the uncertainty about the future of a relationship. From the findings by Gray et al. (2008) and Green (2008), an ideal family size in Australia is two children.
As opposed to Australia, Saudi Arabia hasn’t taken much initiative in helping parents with child rearing. This has made the average family size be on the decrease (Stensgaard, 2004). According to the study by TNS on the Family Size among a representative sample of 500 Saudis, the average family size is five children, with the population increasing at an annual rate of 3%. The results further showed that parents intend to have three children in future. The distribution of families is such that medium families (more than 4 but less than 6 members) constitute 50%, small families (up to 4 members) constitute 25%, and large families (more than 6 members) constitute 25%. Smaller families are better educated, with higher per capita incomes than medium and large families. The study also revealed that the family size is determined by the ability of the parents to provide for the children. Parents would have more children if they were able to afford all the requirements (Stensgaard, 2004), such as good quality education and solid foundation, for the children.
Conclusion
Family size depends on the ability of the parents to care for the children. With government support and favorable policies, more people would be willing to have children. However, if the policies are not favorable, the family size is most likely to reduce. Policies that lower the direct and indirect costs of raising children and enable women to combine childrearing with employment are likely to boost family size. In Australia, the policy changes have greatly reduced the costs of childrearing, as compared to Saudi Arabia.
Annotated Bibliography
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2005). Saudi Arabia. Retrieved October 28, 2012 from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61698.htm
This article highlights the basis laws, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of state. It looks at the labor laws including parental leaves that are essential in childrearing. It also looks at the rights of children and the government’s support including free education in all levels.
Crittenden, A. (2001). The price of motherhood: Why the most important job in the world is still the least undervalued. New York: Henry Holt.
In this book, the author discusses the society’s increased intolerance of children and the diminishing value attached to parents, specifically the mothers. Crittenden reveals why the unpaid work at home doesn’t count in Social Security pensions, or other benefits.
Gray, M., Qu, L., and Weston, R. (2008). Fertility and family policy in Australia. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 41, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2012 from http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/rp41/rp41.pdf
This article provides an overview of the fertility trends in Australia. It discusses the key family policies and provides various explanations for the fertility trends. Being a research paper prepared by a government body, this article is an important reference material on family size.
Green, R. (2008). Families in Australia: 2008. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Canberra. Retrieved October 28, 2012 from http://www.pmc.gov.au/publications/families
This is a government reported, edited by Robin Green and published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Canberra. It provides a summary of the key issues affecting Australian families. It highlights the government’s commitment in supporting all Australian families, including the policies and programs that are already in place. Being a government document, the report is an effective reference material.
Stensgaard, A. (2004). Declining Saudi families - but they're still big! Retrieved October 28, 2012 from http://www.ameinfo.com/47747.html
In this article, Stensgaard reports and analyses the findings of a research conducted by TNS on Family Size in Saudi Arabia. The discussion includes whether Saudi families, on average, are planning to have or are having fewer children than before, and the factors influencing this change, including income and affordability.
FTB Part A - Family Tax Benefits Part A
FTB Part B - Family Tax Benefits Part B
CCB - Child Care Benefit
CCR - Child Care Rebate
BB - Baby Bonus
MIA - Maternity Immunisation Allowance
