我們活在「毛孩比小孩還多」的時代

「這裡以前是托嬰中心，現在改成寵物美容了。」台北市一間鄰公園的商辦社區住戶這樣說。

兩年前，這裡還有孩子的哭聲、父母匆匆忙忙接送的身影，常常搞得路口塞車險象環生。現在，門口排隊變成是許多年青人、頂客族手裡抱或牽著一隻隻毛孩，或是載著博美、吉娃娃、英短貓的推車。

不只是這一間。你有沒有發現，我們的城市正在默默地改變？

▋小孩消失了，毛孩正在佔據生活的空間

根據內政部統計，截至 2024 年底，全台 15 歲以下人口只剩下 274 萬人，佔總人口約 11.7%，還在持續下降。2023 年全台出生人口只剩下 13 萬多人，創下歷史新低。根據《Pet Parent Study 2024》的一項全球調查顯示，56% 以上的受訪者表示他們有飼養犬貓。

同一時間，根據農業部與市場研究，台灣登記的狗狗超過 148 萬隻，貓也突破 131 萬隻，比起 2021 年分別成長了 19% 與 50%。

說得更直接一點：「出生的小孩，已經比不上我們新養的貓狗多了。」

這不是誇張的比喻，而是真實的統計數字。

▋學校倒了，童裝收了，沒人發現它們退場了？

根據教育部統計，自2014年起，台灣已有15所私立大專停辦，2024年，又有明道大學、環球科大、大同技術學院等宣告退場。接下來還可能有40–50 所學校會在未來三年內關門。

而我們熟悉的童裝品牌也撐不住了： 童裝龍頭 麗嬰房 在 2025 年5月宣布關閉唯一自有工廠，從高峰時期的上千家門市萎縮到只剩數十家。 而曾經是百貨銷售王的 WHY AND 1/2，也在 2023 年全面退出台灣市場，所有專櫃一一撤場。

百貨公司童裝樓層變小了、補習班教室出租了、兒童遊樂區也悄悄被收掉了、一堆打著學生套房的租賃訊息及投資客也大規模退場。我們失去的，不只是消費力，而是一整個世代的生活節奏。

▋毛孩，正默默成為家庭的「新孩子」

根據統計，台灣飼主平均每年在毛孩身上花費約 28,000 元。其中：

* 食物佔 41%

* 醫療與保健佔 16%

* 美容照護與寵物服務佔 10%

這還不包含像寵物鮮食訂閱、居家照護、寵物體檢、保險與送行等新興服務。

毛孩不只是陪伴，也越來越像家庭中真正的成員。甚至，有越來越多家庭，寧可不生小孩，也選擇養貓狗。

你發現了嗎？

* 超市開始販售寵物鮮食與零食包裝禮盒

* 百貨專櫃出現寵物推車、名牌牽繩

* 咖啡店多了「毛孩友善」貼紙

* 房仲介紹房子時會問「你家有沒有養狗？這區適合養狗哦！」

▋作為企業，你準備好迎接這波「寵物紅利時代」了嗎？

曾經，把焦點放在孩子，是所有家庭品牌的鐵律。

但今天，如果你還只看童裝、托嬰、教具、才藝班，卻沒看到「毛孩照護、寵物鮮食、健康服務」，就可能錯過了下一波真正的成長曲線。

如果你是童裝或親子品牌，你可以：

* 開發親子＋毛孩同系列服飾與配件

* 利用現有的親子市集，加入毛孩專屬活動與照護課程

* 與寵物品牌聯名做快閃店、生活市集、教育講座

如果你是補教單位，你可以：

* 將教室與空間重新設計為寵物教養、食育、照護的課程場域

* 推出家長與孩子一起學的「毛孩生活素養教育」

* 與我們寵愛合作，開設線上線下混合課程

▋你應該開始學會照顧另一種「家人」。

我們不是在鼓吹「生小孩不重要」，而是希望我們看清楚一個現實：我們的家庭型態、生活消費、情感投入，已經在轉變了。

當毛孩越來越多，孩子越來越少，我們該問的是——

「誰來定義家的樣子？」

「我們的品牌、服務、空間，是否還能照顧到真實的家庭需求？」

💟如果您也想跨寵物產業尋求合作，歡迎與 p'adore寵愛 (@padore / 02-27972097 ) 聯繫，我們可以針對您的企業資源及優勢、族群受眾，提供結合運用的創新方式及落地化建議。同時也很樂意分享資源，打造雙贏模式，共創未來。

資料來源：農業部產業論壇（2023.11）、台灣經濟研究院《寵物飼養認知與支出調查》、《Pet Parent Study 2024》全球調查

撰文｜陳蓁 Jessie Chen（ p’adore 寵愛&毛孩居服員等創辦人、《 p’adore Today 寵愛今天》雜誌主筆）

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We live in an era where there are more furry friends than children.

"This used to be a daycare center, but now it's been converted into a pet grooming center," said a resident of a commercial and office community near a park in Taipei City.

Two years ago, the sounds of crying children and parents rushing to pick them up would often cause dangerous traffic jams at the intersection. Now, the queue at the entrance is filled with young people and diners holding or leading their furry friends, or strollers carrying Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, and British Shorthairs.

It's not just this one. Have you noticed that our cities are changing silently?

▋ Children have disappeared, and furry friends are taking over our living space

According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, by the end of 2024, there will be only 2.74 million people under the age of 15 in Taiwan, accounting for approximately 11.7% of the total population, and the number is continuing to decline. In 2023, the number of births in Taiwan reached just over 130,000, a record low. According to a global survey, "Pet Parent Study 2024," over 56% of respondents indicated that they own dogs or cats.

At the same time, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and market research, there are more than 1.48 million registered dogs in Taiwan and more than 1.31 million cats, an increase of 19% and 50% respectively compared to 2021.

To put it more bluntly: "The number of children born is no longer as many as the number of new cats and dogs we have."

This is not an exaggeration, but a real statistic.

▋The school closed down, the children's clothes were collected, and no one noticed that they were gone?

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, 15 private colleges and universities in Taiwan have closed since 2014. Mingdao University, Global University of Science and Technology, and Tatung Institute of Technology will also close in 2024. Another 40–50 schools may close within the next three years.

And the children's clothing brands we are familiar with can no longer hold on:

Children's clothing leader Les Enphants announced the closure of its sole factory in May 2025, shrinking its network from over a thousand stores at its peak to just a few dozen. And WHY AND 1/2, once a top-selling department store chain, also completely withdrew from the Taiwanese market in 2023, closing all its counters.

Department store floors for children's clothing have shrunk, cram school classrooms have been rented out, children's play areas have been quietly closed, and a slew of rental listings marketed as student apartments and investors have retreated en masse. What we've lost isn't just spending power, but the rhythm of life for an entire generation.

▋Furry kids are quietly becoming the "new kids" of the family

According to statistics, Taiwanese pet owners spend an average of NT$28,000 per year on their pets.

* Food accounts for 41%

* Medical and healthcare account for 16%

* Grooming and pet services account for 10%

This does not include emerging services such as pet food subscriptions, home care, pet checkups, insurance and farewell services.

urry pets are not just companions; they are becoming more and more like real family members. In fact, more and more families would rather not have children than not have cats and dogs.

Did you find it?

* Supermarkets begin selling pet food and snack gift boxes

* Pet strollers and brand-name leashes appear in department store counters

* The cafe now has "furry-friendly" stickers

* When listing a property, real estate agents often ask, "Do you have a dog? This area is dog-friendly!"

▋As a business, are you ready to embrace this "pet dividend era"?

Once upon a time, focusing on children was the iron rule for all family brands.

But today, if you are still only looking at children's clothing, baby care, teaching aids, and talent classes, but not "furry care, fresh pet food, and health services", you may miss the next wave of real growth curve.

If you are a children's clothing or parent-child brand, you can:

* Develop parent-child and pet-friendly clothing and accessories

* Take advantage of the existing parent-child market and join in furry-friendly activities and care courses

* Collaborate with pet brands to run pop-up stores, lifestyle markets, and educational lectures

If you are a tutoring institution, you can:

* Redesign classrooms and spaces into venues for pet education, food education, and care courses

* Launched "Furry Kids Life Literacy Education" for parents and children to learn together

* Cooperate with us to offer online and offline hybrid courses

▋You should start learning to take care of another kind of "family".

We are not advocating that "having children is not important", but we hope that we can see clearly a reality: our family structure, living consumption, and emotional investment are already changing.

As there are more and more fur babies and fewer and fewer children, what we should ask is——

“Who defines what home looks like?”

"Can our brand, services, and space still meet the real needs of families?"

💟If you're looking for collaboration across the pet industry, please contact p'adore (@padore / 02-27972097). We can provide innovative solutions and implementation advice tailored to your company's resources, strengths, and target audience. We're also happy to share resources, creating a win-win situation and a shared future.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture Industry Forum (November 2023), Taiwan Institute of Economic Research "Pet Ownership Awareness and Expenditure Survey", "Pet Parent Study 2024" Global Survey

Written by Jessie Chen (Founder of p’adore & Furry Home Care, Editor-in-Chief of p’adore Today Magazine)

<<English translation provided by Google>>