A member of China's top political advisory body Friday proposed mothers should update their own knowledge and improve overall quality to provide still better family education for their kids.

"Mothers have an indispensable role to play today in educating their kids," said He Yue, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), adding that they have to raise their own moral standards, keep themselves updated in the fast-paced social development and learn parenting science to qualify themselves for that role.

The same request has come from the children as well. According to a recent survey done in north China's port city of Tianjin, 31. 5 percent of the 1,000 primary and junior high school students surveyed said their mothers are "plain looking with a lack of charisma", and nearly 76 percent of them said their mothers needed to go on learning and improve their overall quality.

"More and more kids want their mothers to nag less, pick up some basics about computer, be more elegant and take their own kids as friends," the advisor said in an interview with Xinhua.

A survey conducted by Tianjin Women's Federation shows that nearly 100 percent of all the 5,000 mothers with kids aged up to 14 are eager and ready to provide adequate family education to their kids, but 53 percent of them need to learn parenting skills.

Tianjin Municipality was the first in China to launch a "qualification drive" for mothers in March 2004. The project is designed to help turn "biological mothers" into "qualified educators" who have their own careers, harmonious family ties and can convey their love to the kids the right way, said He.

The same drive should be launched across China and incorporated into the country's overall planning for social and economic development, she said.

"By giving full scope to the mother's role, we don't mean to downplay the role of the father or other family members," said He. "The ultimate goal is for all the citizens to keep learning throughout their lives."

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2005)