Children of the current generation compete for everything. They compete with each other even for Chinese New Year’s gift money. One middle school student even hoped that his parents could get divorced so that he would receive two portions of gift money. A psychiatrist says the current generation of children place less value on family and friendship. The situation is a cause for worry.
According to a report by Yangtse Evening Post on February 5, 2006, Liu Hao, a first grade student from the No. 1 middle school in Nanjing City, and his classmates were comparing how much money they each received on New Year’s. Liu felt like “a disgraced man” because all his classmates received more gift money than him. In particular, little Wang got gift money of 3000 yuan (US$372.44) from his divorced parents. This was three times the amount Liu Hao received.
Confronting the reality that money dominates everything, Liu Hao expressed a heartfelt feeling that his parents could divorce so he could get double the gift money. Liu’s mother was depressed for several days after hearing what he said. She wonders what is going on in her son’s mind.
Mr. Pan, director at Kairui Psychiatric Consultation Limited Company in Nanjing, believes that Liu Hao’s behaviour illustrates his selfishness. One can even give up one’s family, as long as it can satisfy one’s material desire.
Mr. Pan especially pointed out that both schools and parents pursue grades and rank, and pay less attention to children’s moral values. Children need to learn what is right and wrong, more importantly, how to judge that for themselves, and the consequences of those choices. This one-sided pursuit of grades and rank has led to overlooking their bad deeds, because of their good grades (One excellent action can cover one hundred ugly things). Therefore this situation has led to the abnormal psychological phenomenon of the “supremacy of money” in children.
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