Vietnam’s changing family with fewer children and greater solitude
As the country marks Family Day on 28 June, questions are asked about the changes underway with concerns over the fate of local traditions. Divorce and gender imbalance are among the challenges. The party's rhetoric singles out four fundamental family values: prosperity, happiness, progress, and civilisation.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Sunday, 28 June, is Family Day in Vietnam, an institution seen as the foundation of Vietnamese society, at least in the official rhetoric of the one-party Communist state, based on values that have survived the test of time while changing according to the times.
The strength of the Vietnamese family is closely linked to social sustainability, the quality of human resources, and the country's long-term development. As the country accelerates its industrialisation, modernisation, digital transformation, and international integration, the family is undergoing profound changes.
According to various scholars, these changes create new opportunities but also pose challenges to traditional values, Vietnam+(VietnamPlus), the digital news website of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), noted in a recent report.
Historically, the family has remained a pillar of society because, in addition to raising future generations and preserving cultural traditions, it is the primary environment in which personalities, values, and aspirations are formed.
Professor Nguyễn Hữu Minh, who chairs the Vietnam Sociological Association, explains that families have changed significantly in both structure and function, starting with size, from an average of 5.2 members in 1979 to 3.6 in 2024, as extended families give way to nuclear families.
While this reflects urbanisation and industrialisation, the shift has weakened intergenerational support and family cohesion.
Another source of concern is the persistent imbalance in the birth sex ratio, which remains around 111 boys for every 100 girls. If this trend continues, it is estimated that over the next ten years, approximately 3.5 million Vietnamese men could face difficulties finding a partner.
Family care dynamics have also changed. With the spread of nuclear families, the number of relatives available to care for the elderly and children has decreased.
Migration for work, both domestically and abroad, has led many parents to work away from home. At the same time, public eldercare services remain limited, and private facilities are too expensive for most families.
Children whose parents work far away often depend on grandparents or caregivers, who may not be able to provide sufficient educational and emotional support.
This can affect children's personality development and psychological well-being. Minh himself cited cases of children who experienced deep emotional distress due to prolonged separation from their parents.
Rising divorce rates pose another challenge. Over the past 30 years, separation rates in Vietnam have increased nearly sevenfold.
While divorce can offer adults a fresh start, children often bear the greatest emotional burden due to custody disputes and protracted conflicts between parents.
Digital technology is also redefining relationships. It is increasingly common for family members to focus on smartphones, tablets, or televisions even during meals, reducing face-to-face interaction, thus weakening emotional bonds.
Furthermore, parents are finding it harder to guide and monitor their children's online lives, widening the generational gap.
For Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Trịnh Thị Thủy, today's transformations in the family are an inevitable result of development and impact education, care, protection, intergenerational bonds, and cultural preservation.
An aging population, declining birth rates, pressures to balance work and family, rising divorce rates, a widening generation gap, and the growing influence of digital technology all pose new challenges.
Yet, experts agree that, regardless of social changes, the family remains the foundation for developing responsible citizens.
At this juncture, in their rhetoric, the government and the Communist Party seek to defend the institution and the principles it represents; values such as patriotism, respect for the law, compassion, morality, and cultural identity all have their origins in the family.
Politburo Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW on the development of Vietnamese culture identifies four fundamental family values: prosperity, happiness, progress, and civilisation.
Professor Minh notes that these principles can adapt well to modern society, but should be translated into measurable indicators.
Clear definitions of prosperity, happiness, progress, and civilisation should be integrated into local socioeconomic development goals, along with indicators on gender equality and family well-being, areas that currently receive insufficient attention.
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