Teachers interact with children during a class at HiDoWell, a Chongqing-based childcare institution for children aged 0 to 3, on Oct 14, 2025. (Photo/Tan Xinyu)
Chongqing - With fewer babies being born, Chinese universities are now offering a "baby-care" major. This September, Shandong Women's University and Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University welcomed the first Infant Development and Health Management class.
Bridging News recently visited a childcare institution in Chongqing to explore how professionals trained to care for young children are navigating the realities and challenges of their growing but demanding field.
Strong demand for childcare services
Official data underscores the social demand behind the establishment of this program. According to the National Health Commission, China currently has nearly 30 million children under the age of three, and more than 30% of families express a need for childcare services.
Yan Rongxia, head of research and teaching at HiDoWell, a Chongqing-based childcare institution for children aged 0 to 3, said that families who opt for childcare services are mainly dual-income households.
"Another group includes families where one or both parents have part-time jobs or other commitments and cannot care for their children themselves, and where grandparents are not available to help," Yan said. "There are also parents with more advanced views on early childhood development, who believe that neither parental nor grandparental care alone can provide an optimal environment for a child's growth. They turn to professional childcare institutions to support healthy development."
She added that some families seek professional help here after noticing developmental issues, such as speech delays or problems with motor skills, caused by inadequate family care.
Teachers interact with children during a class at HiDoWell, a Chongqing-based childcare institution for children aged 0 to 3, on Oct 14, 2025. (Photo/Tan Xinyu)
Bridging the talent gap
According to a government guideline on accelerating the development of affordable childcare services, China aims to have 4.5 nursery places per 1,000 people for children under the age of three by 2025.
However, Yan admitted that there is still a severe shortage of professionals trained to care for children aged 0 to 3. "At present, most of the staff working in this field come from kindergartens or early education institutions," she said. "But caring for infants under three is not the same as teaching. If you use a teaching-based approach that makes children passively receive information, it can suppress their natural ability to learn."
As early as 2021, China's Ministry of Education added Infant Care Services and Management to its vocational education catalog. Ren Xiayang, head of HiDoWell, said the introduction of both undergraduate and vocational programs was a positive step, reflecting the country's growing awareness of the need to cultivate professional talent. "But whether at the undergraduate or vocational level, the strength of teaching staff — both in theory and practice — still falls short," Ren noted.
Yan, who also teaches practical courses at several vocational colleges in Chongqing, said the current textbooks are heavily focused on medical knowledge because medicine developed earlier in this field.
HiDoWell serves as an employment and internship base for the Chongqing Preschool Education College and collaborates with several other universities in the city. "Students may have a theoretical understanding of childcare from school, but when they visit HiDoWell for internships or participate in our training and case-sharing sessions, they finally see what real childcare looks like," Yan said.
Ji Yanhong, director of the Infant Development and Health Management program at Shandong Women's University, emphasized the differences between undergraduate and vocational training in an interview with Southern Weekly. Unlike vocational programs that focus on practical skills, undergraduate programs place greater emphasis on theoretical foundations and include more core academic courses.
Ji added that Shandong Women's University and Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University's major builds on their existing education schools and offers courses in education, psychology, management, and medicine.
Graduates of the undergraduate program are expected to work in the field of infant care and early childhood development for children aged 0 to 3. Their career options include childcare centers, kindergarten nursery classes, maternal and child healthcare hospitals, community healthcare centers, and other institutions related to children's health and development. They will be qualified for positions in infant care and education, developmental assessment and health management, as well as institutional operations and administration, said Li Mingjun, vice president of Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University, in an interview with China News.com.cn.
Hao Fuqing, Deputy Director of the Social Development Department at the National Development and Reform Commission, revealed at a 2022 press conference that domestic surveys show the lack of infant care is a leading factor discouraging births. Research, including international experience, indicates that developing childcare services can significantly reduce family burdens and boost fertility intentions.