Parents may earn less than 800 yuan (US$101) monthly, but they may give their child 300 yuan (US$38) as pocket money every month. A survey on 3,800 students in elementary and secondary schools and 1,000 parents in Shanghai launched by Adolescence Center of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences shows that too much pocket money is given to children in Shanghai.

 

 

Elementary students can often receive large sums of money from their relatives during the Lunar New Year, with 76% of them getting 500 yuan (US$63), and 11.8% even 3,000 yuan (US$380).

 

More than 69.1% of elementary and 28.9% of secondary school respondents say that they can get at least 50 yuan (US$6.3) every month from their parents, and some even 300 yuan. Meanwhile, elementary students can often receive large sums of money from their relatives during the Lunar New Year, with 76% of them getting 500 yuan (US$63), and 11.8% even 3,000 yuan (US$380).

 

This reporter finds that 4.7% of student respondents whose family income is less than 800 yuan monthly receive 300 yuan every month. Experts think these students must be extravagant spenders, but what puzzles them is that only 4% of students from rich families (with a family income of 10 thousand yuan ($1,272) or above monthly) get as much for pocket money per month.

 

Sun Baohong, deputy director of the center, said too much pocket money is not good for children's development, and parents need to give their children money based on the family's economic conditions.

 

(Chinanews.cn November 24, 2006)