Full-time Children as a Career

Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. (1 Corinthians 14:20)

On September 28, 2023, the Los Angeles Times presented a troubling article. “Young Chinese adults can’t find work. Now many have a new job description: ‘Full-time children,’” by Stephanie Yang and David Shen, investigates the young adult crisis in China as their “economy deteriorates and job opportunities dry up.” Yang and Shen confirm, “The concept of becoming a professional son or daughter, which started circulating on a popular Chinese internet forum in December, has taken off.” Young people in China no longer feel they can rely on the economy, higher education, or their nation to provide for their future. According to UCLA anthropology professor Yunxiang Yan, “Increasingly, when young people look around, there is almost no one they can rely on except their parents.”

The trend of full-time children is troubling both for the individual and family, but also for the larger society. Yang and Shen’s article warns, “If it becomes a structural problem, then it will have a very important cost in terms of reduced productivity.” We are already struggling with a smaller workforce in China and the United States as the Baby Boomers retire but still require resources. If Full-time children become a working model in our country, our economy will experience increased suffering. Suppose finding well-paying jobs becomes more challenging, and our economy stumbles like China’s. In that case, our young adults will feel even more disengaged from a career option, and a decline in motivated and trained workers will continue.

Now, let’s look at the personal implications of choosing to check out of society’s workforce. Being self-sufficient enhances physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. To take away one’s sense of self-reliance leads to more depression and despair. Emotional pain leads to physical illnesses without the long-term ability to provide for one’s health care. Then, what happens to these adult children when their parents die? They will be professionally and emotionally unable to cope with their new reality.

Full-time children remain a spiritual issue because the individual remains self-focused. If the person is not challenged by life, they will not need to rely on God. Life’s hardships are often disguised blessings because they require us to form a trusting relationship with God. Being too comfortable can be a curse because God becomes real to most of us through life’s challenges. God seems like an unnecessary intrusion if our world becomes too comfortable and small. Pray the full-time children concept does not become more prevalent in our country or the rest of the world. Meaningful and productive work and self-sufficiency lead to a healthy and holy life.