490000yuan rear a child in china?_生活Life

490,000 yuan needed to rear a child in china?

　"chinese parents will spend on average of 490,000 yuan to bring up one healthy child." this assertion, reported by the media from a research report issued by the chinese academy of social sciences, aroused the suspicion of many citizens.

　singapore's united morning post's beijing bureau reported that most citizens thought that this research report was produced by the academy's experts in their ivory towers, behind closed doors, far removed from the reality of chinese society.

　one newspaper in beijing recently introduced this research report titled "the cost of child-rearing, its structure, changes and optimization during the transformation period" written by famous sociologist xu anqi of the chinese academy of social sciences.

　the report said that the total cost of raising one child from infancy to the age of 16 would be 250,000 yuan, given the direct economic cost.

　if the cost of the child's higher education were taken into account, the number would add up to 480,000 yuan.

　the report estimated that the total cost of raising one unmarried child who was not a student to the age of 30 was 490,000 yuan.

　and that figure did not even include the income of about 50,000 to 60,000 yuan from social donation, free schooling and spring festival lucky money and so on.

　according to the research report, lucky money received during chinese new year and pocket money amounted to 2,300 yuan a year per child and as much as 40,000 yuan for those at the top.

　this 490,000 yuan figure would not include pregnancy and maternity expenses and indirect economic costs.

　　the report was greeted with heated discussions on the internet. the general view was that the report was an arabian nights story, fooling the general public.

　some people believed that the conclusion might apply to white collar families, mid level and higher officials or families owning private companies.

　an online message read: how come some "socialists" are so ignorant about the real situation in china?

　what is the per capita annual income for 80% of the chinese people? how much can be spared for children after deducting all necessary living expenses?

　to save 490,000 yuan means, for a family of three with 10,000 yuan annual income, not spending one cent on food or drinks for 49 years.

　a postgraduate said that this report was not based on reality. he revealed that it probably cost his family 40,000 to 50,000 yuan to send him to university.

　before he was 17, his family had to spend 2,000 to 3,000 yuan annually, on average, on his schooling expenses in his hometown, a school he considered luxurious.

　all the expenditures he mentioned totaled less than 100,000 yuan. as for some of his schoolmates from rural regions, their schooling expenditures amounted at most to half of his.