Zhao Zhenming (right), 67, a resident of the Wangjing residential area in Beijing, keeps a close watch over the children of her neighbors at a playground Wednesday. Like many of the elderly in cities throughout the rest of country, the retiree is helping to look after children during the summer vacation. (Photo: China Daily/Guan Xin) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, July 24 -- As cities countrywide swelter in the midst of summer, many Chinese families are said to be facing the heat from another major challenge of urban living - pandering to the "little emperors", or precious children, as they break out for the holidays.

    With an estimated 13 million Chinese families in cities with such children on their hands, many households with two working parents who are getting their children's retired grandparents to handle the arduous task of babysitting are finding the going tough.

    Adding to the challenge are the daunting numbers - there were 17 million one-graders in the country's primary schools alone last year, with nearly 110,000 in Beijing alone, statistics from the Ministry of Education showed.

    Enter the burgeoning day-care center business.

    Jiang Yu, a Beijing resident, recently posted an online request for ideas on what to do with her 7-year-old son, a first-year primary school pupil.

    Her posting drew more than 1,100 suggestions.

    "Qiuqiu spent last summer in kindergarten," Jiang wrote.

    "But now it seems he must stay at home by himself, because he is already a primary school pupil. I'm afraid he'll feel lonely and gloomy."

    Netizens recommended many day-care centers to Jiang. A number even suggested that parents with similar concerns start a day-care center of their own.

    But for Jiang, none of these ideas seemed to click. Disappointed, she decided to leave her child with his aging grandparents.

    There is one day-care center in her neighborhood, Jiang said. But she said it was not suitable and the fees it charged were too high.

    The center also requires all the children to be in class before 8 am, a time Jiang said she found hard to meet.

    Day-care centers run by Beijing primary schools commonly charge between 1,000 yuan ($146) and 2,500 yuan a month for each child, as displayed on websites covering community services. At these centers, teachers are hired on temporary contracts. They look after the children, play with them and tutor them in homework.

    A community services website catering to Wangjing neighborhood, a large residential area in Beijing, has been getting about two dozen posts daily on day-care centers since the onset of summer.

    Still, at a park in the neighborhood, most of all the 7- and 8-year-old children playing on the grounds were with their grandparents, parents, or elderly guardians, the Beijing News reported recently.

    One Wangjing resident said there must be thousands of pupils in the residential area.

    In the late afternoons, the neighborhood park is seen packed with children under the charge of the elderly.

    Funhouse is one of the day-care centers in Wangjing. Catering to children between 6 and 10 years old, it already has about two dozen students.

    Its recruitment director, Shou Ying, admitted that although many parents have showed interest in the center's services, they often find it hard to commit.

    Parents tend to worry a lot about issues such as the quality of the facilities, the staff and the price, Shou said last Friday.

    Other parents are more demanding, creating problems for the center. Some want it to make their children do only homework. A number of parents have even asked that the homework be more than the load required by their children's schools.

    The parents or those who pay the fees get the final say on what their children should be doing in the center, Shou said. Such day care can become devoid of fun as a result, Shou said.

    In line with similar priorities spelt out by parents, Fun House has revised its program to focus on educational instead of recreational activities. Three other day-care centers in Wangjing told China Daily their role is to similarly supervise their charges in homework.

    In return, such an emphasis on schoolwork has reportedly made the day-care centers unpopular with children under them.

    The children are said to opt instead for the traditional way of spending holidays - staying with their grandparents, said Wang Suming, a primary school teacher in the city of Nanjing, Jiangsu.

    While they form the minority, parents who want their children to have fun and make friends in the day-care centers are also considered the victims in the equation.

    Wu Qiudi, a nurse in Nanjing, said the children need to learn how to get along with each other.

    "The quality of the teachers is still the most important," she said.

    Xu Lina, a mother and teacher herself, said children should learn to do things with their peers rather than spend all their time with the elderly at home. But she worries if the day-care centers, as profit-oriented organizations, can actually help in the healthy development of the children under their charge.

    A number of parents have gone so far as to suggest that the best alternative is for schools to remain open throughout summer, the Beijing News reported.

    However, the summer vacation is currently legally enforced and no school can ask its teachers to continue working throughout summer.

    Making the best use of schools in addressing these issues deserves top priority, said Wang Jintang, an official from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Beijing Committee, the Beijing municipal government's advisory group.

    Wang also called for concerted efforts to help students during the holidays.

    "Schools can keep some teachers working during the holiday, and open their playgrounds and libraries," he said.

    "Museums and other cultural and sports facilities should be free for students. There should also be ways for parents to help each other in looking after their children."

    However, he said any holiday arrangement for students should be based on two principles: Not to seek profit, and not to have the children study more.

    "Let the holidays be a time for them to have fun," he said.

    (Source: China Daily)