A mere one tenth of college students remember their parents' birthdays while nearly half of them have never done anything that emotionally moved their parents, reveals a recent survey carried out in central China's Henan Province.

 

Two hundred students from four local universities were questioned on a number of issues prior to the American Thanksgiving Day festival which is gaining acceptance among young Chinese people.

 

According to the survey only 10 percent of the students are capable of writing down their parents' birthdays, 33 percent want to celebrate their birthday with their parents and 16 percent said their parents were emotional when they presented birthday gifts.

 

"When I filled out the survey I suddenly realized how little I had done for my parents," said Yang Bo, a student from the Henan University of Industry. Like Yang many students found it very difficult to fill out the form even though the questions looked simple.

 

Yang Jie, a female student from the Henan University of Agriculture, said many students hold a big birthday dinner with their classmates and forget their parents on the day. "Everyone's birthday is a day of suffering for their mother so people should at least call their parents to express their gratitude on that special day," she said.

 

Most Chinese parents, however, prefer to see their children get a good exam result rather than receive a birthday call. "An excellent school report is better than anything else," said a local woman named Fu. Her son is an 18-year student.

 

Chinese students, mostly from one-child families, are the focus of the family and are growing up to be careless of others, said Peng Yi, a psychiatrist. Peng said traditionally Chinese parents never asked anything from their children and children believed they deserved everything their parents have done for them.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2006)