China’s ‘Full-Time Grandchildren’ Trend Highlights Youth Unemployment
Udumbara
As China’s economy continues to slow and youth unemployment remains high, a growing number of young people are turning to an unconventional career path—becoming full-time caregivers for their grandparents.
Dubbed as “full-time grandchildren,” this trend has taken off on Chinese social media, where disillusioned Gen Zers, especially those born after 2000, share stories of abandoning the ultra-competitive urban job market to return to their hometowns and care for aging relatives.
A ‘Job’ of Desperation
For many, becoming a “full-time grandchild” is not a lifestyle choice but a reluctant retreat from China’s highly competitive job market that offers few alternatives.“Working out there [in big cities] drained my entire family’s savings, and I couldn’t even save much myself,” she said on a WeChat-based channel. “If I weren’t here, my grandparents would need to hire a caregiver anyway. At least I’m family, and they feel more at ease.”
For Xiao Ru and many like her, moving back home offers both emotional comfort and a modest economic solution since their accommodation would be essentially covered by their grandparents.
In other words, many young people would prefer to live with their grandparents for free while looking after them. In some cases, retirees with generous pensions even pay their grandchildren for their caregiving work.
Privilege for Only Some
However, experts warn that the “full-time grandchild” role is only available to a privileged few.“This isn’t a sustainable or universal solution,” Geng Lutao, a former educational professional in China, told The Epoch Times. “Only middle-class families, especially those with retired government workers or state enterprise officials, can afford this arrangement. Most Chinese retirees receive just a few hundred yuan (around US$100) a month, which is barely enough to support themselves, let alone a grandchild.”
Disappearing Opportunities
The rise of “full-time grandchildren” is unfolding against the backdrop of a deeply troubled job market.“The job market is collapsing,” Geng said. “Small and medium-sized enterprises were decimated during the three years of pandemic lockdowns. Now, with high housing prices and consumer prices, and stagnant wages, even highly educated young people cannot find jobs. Degrees are being devalued, and upward social mobility is vanishing.”
Both Geng and Li point to deeper structural issues, citing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) suppression of private enterprises and freedom of expression as key factors.
State Propaganda Narrative
While some in the Chinese state media portray “full-time grandchildren” as society’s return to traditional Chinese values of filial devotion, critics argue that this framing serves to mask the gravity of the regime’s economic and social crisis under the CCP.“This is just a beautified version of relying on your elders for survival,” Geng said. “It is not a solution. [Instead], it is a coping mechanism, and the CCP is using it to shift blame and tell young people that they can make a living as long as they obey and not question the regime’s policies.”
He added, “The CCP wants to distract from their systemic failure by selling this illusion of dignity in dependency, but it is just another form of brainwashing—training young people to accept a life of passive obedience.”
Li also warned of long-term consequences, “The longer these young people remain outside the workforce, the harder it will be for them to reintegrate, even if job opportunities improve, because they are being pushed into an early retirement from life itself.”
