Taken from Chapter 4: One-child families Serious measures Families that have more than one child are punished. For instance, the government withdraws the family allowance, gives that family fewer privileges, and makes it pay fines. The family that has a third child receives even harsher penalties. The child is put at the bottom of the list for a place in kindergarten, and the family must pay all its own medical expenses. The Chinese government has made a remarkable effort to control its population growth, but the program has not turned out to be a complete success. Controlling population is a very difficult task. People do not like being told not to have children. Many people want families so badly that they are willing to pay the fines and suffer the other penalties for having more than one child.
