We've known for a while that monetary issues trump condoms when it comes to convincing Chinese to have less children, but recent survey underlines exactly how much it matters: 83% of netizens who responded to Sina.com's poll felt that the cost of rearing children was too high. Ordinary families can expect to throw 100,000RMB into raising a child, but the cost gets higher as your income rises. But while the cost of living has no doubt risen, from the replies, it feels like a lot of the money goes into many useless things: Gymboree early learning centers (12,000RMB), imported milk powder (160RMB) and "radiation protection clothing" (400RMB). Yikes, somebody ought to help these parents cut through the apparently thick layer of psuedoscience related to rearing children. more ›

A Shanghainese woman who's lived abroad in the U.S. recently posted a blog entry on the stereotype of "Chinese Mothers" in the West that garnered a lot of attention from netizens. more ›