“Controversial Decision: Desperate Parents of Quadruplets Face Backlash for Crowdfunding Medical Expenses!”
The parents’ situation became even more complicated after the wife had to quit her job to take care of the newborns, leaving the family with half their monthly funds
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Chen explained that he and his wife were co-workers for a company in Shenzhen, and that their combined income was around $1,400 a month. His wife, however, had to quit the job in order to take care of the babies, cutting their household income in half.
According to Statista, the estimated cost of living in Shenzhen for a family of four ascends to $2,100 a month, way above what the couple made jointly. Now that their unit has grown to eight members Chen, as the sole provider, is desperate for help.
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“I just don’t have 200,000 yuan. I’m an ordinary employee with a meager income. I feel helpless. I hope society will help us,” said Chen to local media. “I am happy for the birth of my quadruplet babies, but I am also concerned. How can we raise them?”
Officials from the Shenzhen Women’s Federation came to the couple’s aid and said they could apply for their Woman and Child Aid Fund, which could help them with $280 a year.
“I am out of ideas and the stress is overbearing. I hope society can provide us with some help,” Chen continued.
Local netizens theorized that the continued insistence of Li and Chen on having children despite their situation might be due to the fact that they haven’t been able to conceive a son
Image credits: Yan Krukau
Male preference is a known phenomenon in China. A 1998 study published by the Guttmacher Institute, explains that the phenomenon stems from a desire to “raise children to fight against aging,” that is, to ensure a parent is taken care of as they go old.
