An old poster with a new family planning slogan is found on the Web. XINHUA

Family planning slogans are now needed to help reverse this trend and they should be "more interesting, vivid, and well received", said Zuo Dongling, a deputy of the National People's Congress.

Social media is buzzing with tongue-in-cheek suggestions such as "Two babies rewarded; one baby fined; DINKs arrested", referring to those couples with "double income, no kids".

Zhu Lianqing suggested the government learn from neighboring countries, such as South Korea, which encourages its people with slogans like "Dad, I'm lonely, and I want more brothers and sisters", "More kids, better lives", and "The biggest legacy for children is siblings."

But just improving slogans is not enough for some. "Without improved services or polices, people will not have the courage to have more children－no matter how good the slogan," said Zhang Jingping, a working mother of two.

Other parents echoed her thoughts. Yu Li, a sales manager in the communications industry, who has two girls, wants preferential policies on school enrollment, and car and home purchases, as they are the most expensive and stressful requirements for raising children in large cities.