Schoolchildren wait for festivities to start in Tiananmen Square in Beijing May 31, 2001. Thousands of Chinese children converged upon the square to celebrate ahead of International Children's Day on June 1. Spending on children takes up a large part of family budgets in most urban families, and parents are willing to lavish money on the only child they are allowed to have. Average spending on a single child in the Chinese capital is 1,009 yuan ($122) a month.

CMC/CP