Children say loving family environment most important

A loving family environment is the most important thing for Chinese children, far more important than money, social status or power, according to a new report.

The report, released on Wednesday, is based on a survey of more than 112,000 fourth-grade students and more than 74,000 eighth-grade students last year by Beijing Normal University. Questionnaires were also sent to more than 31,000 teachers.

Around 40 percent of fourth-grade students surveyed said the most important thing in their life was having a loving family, while the percentage was even higher for eighth-grade students, at 49.4 percent.

Only 1.2 percent of fourth-grade students chose money as the most important thing, and 0.6 percent chose social status. For eight-graders, it was 1.3 percent for money and 0.9 percent for social status.

Twenty-five percent of fourth-grade students said the people they most respected were their parents, followed by teachers at 22.5 percent and scientists at 14.2 percent. For the older students, 29 percent chose their parents as their role model, followed by movie or sports stars at 14.6 percent and historic figures at 12.1 percent.

Bian Yufang, chief expert at the National Innovation Center for Assessment of Basic Education Ability at Beijing Normal University, said parents are their children’s first teachers, and many children consider them their role models.

Children can see the good qualities in their parents and try to be as good as their parents, Bian said. Parents should set good examples for their children, pass on positive values and create a good environment for their growth, she said.