Baidu platform's ad on 3-child policy cops flak for featuring Dads only

A recent Father's Day ad in China concerning the three-child policy has caused a stir online. The video, which has been circulating on Weibo, featured eight fathers showing their support for the three-child policy which was announced at the end of last month. Netizens criticised the ad for only interviewing men and not offering a voice for women, and for lecturing women on how to have babies.

The video was done by HaoKan Video, a subsidiary of Baidu, and addressed common concerns by the public including whether one will have the energy to take care of three children and four elderly parents and what will the fate of the wife's career be when she has to care for three children. The three-child policy was met with backlash when it was first announced. According to Reuters and South China Morning Post, citizens were concerned about the high cost of raising children, insufficient social benefits and housing prices.

One father in the video said they do not measure education based on tuition or enrichment classes. As long as the child is happy, the family can still have fun by going to libraries and museums. As long as one is not tired, nothing can make the parents tired, he said.

Meanwhile, another father addressed the concern of how a mother will be able to handle three children when fathers are rarely around. In response, he said it is both the parents' responsibility to raise the children since they were created by both of them. Just like how the parents agreed to be together forever when they got married, they could take turns changing diapers in the day, tutoring them at night, and feeding the children milk in the wee hours of the morning. "We will shoulder the burden together at every step of the way," he added.

Another common concern was the fate of the wife's career once she has a third child. One of the fathers said his wife has always considering a career switch and having a third child provides her with such an opportunity. He added that the family has saved some money and has also spoken to their friends who are entrepreneurs. As such, they are filled with hope for the future. Meanwhile, one father even suggested exercising and eating nutritious food to have a healthy baby, even though they might be getting older.

Other issues addressed in the video included housing near the schools being too expensive, whether the parents will be able to raise the children well, and whether the parents will have the energy to take care of three children and four elderly parents. The video ended with the line: "Having three children is not easy, but it's not easy to make fathers feel daunted.

Netizens criticised the video for not sharing the opinions of women who are actually responsible for birthing the child. One sarcastically said that women are only used as a tool for childbirth and their opinions need not be considered. Meanwhile, another said that these "Chinese roosters who cannot lay eggs have the audacity to point fingers at the hens". Another netizen described the ad as "unrealistic" and another questioned if the eight fathers have ever raised a baby on their own. On the other hand, some netizens also sarcastically commented if this was an anti-fertility video because women's desire to reproduce would have probably dropped to freezing point. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Baidu for comment.