Parents may earn less than 800 yuan (US$101) monthly, but they may give their child 300 yuan as pocket money every month.

Too much pocket money is given to children in Shanghai, showed a survey conducted by Adolescence Center of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The survey convers 3,800 students in elementary and secondary schools and 1,000 parents in the China's financial hub. 

More than 69 percent of elementary and 28.9
percent of secondary school respondents say that they can get at least 50 yuan 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 percent of them getting 500 yuan, and 11.8 percent even 3,000 yuan.

This reporter finds that 4.7 percent 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 percent of students from rich families (with a family income of 10 thousand yuan or above monthly) get so much for pocket money per month.

Having pocket money is good for children. It gives a sense of independence, and a measure of choice in making decisions about how the money is spent, analysts said.

However, 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, said Sun Baohong, deputy director of the center.

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