 As the Chinese government tried to communicate to their people after the population boom between 1953 and 1971, having fewer children allows more of a family's total resources to be dedicated to each child.Especially in countries that give parents incentives for family planning and for having fewer children, it is advantageous to existing children to be in smaller families.In more rural areas where families depend on the labor of their children to survive, sterilization could have more of a negative effect.