Tong Tong has been the biggest spender in his family since he was born. The fixed expenditure on the 11-month-old boy includes baby formula imported from the United States, disposable diapers made in Japan, clothes bought online and various nutrient drinks and vitamin pills.

    The average monthly spending on the baby is close to 10,000 yuan, almost 80 percent of the family’s total expenses, said Tong Tong’s father, Yang Liangfeng, a senior engineer in an integrated circuit manufacturing company in Beijing. Yet the costs do not stop there. Mr. Yang and his wife recently signed up for an “early education class” for their son with a one-time payment of 13,000 yuan, a big chunk of the couple’s monthly salary of 18,000 yuan.

    “It’s so expensive,” Mr. Yang, 30, said. “But my wife insists it’s necessary for my son to take more physical exercises offered in the class because he appears to be a slow learner.”

    Even so, Mr. Yang said the outlay for Tong Tong was modest compared with what his friends and colleagues spent on their children. “A colleague said her daughter would never drink milk without having an imported fruit juice first.”

    Tong Tong is one of 16.2 million children born on the mainland last year. Demographic experts say a new baby boom is emerging on the mainland as children born in the previous boom - in the 1980s - are now entering marriageable and child-bearing age. This upward birth trend may last until 2015. The boom is fueling a heated market for baby and children’s products.

    China had about 246 million children aged under 14 years at the end of last year, and the average annual spending per child is close to 10,000 yuan in first- and second-tier cities. Industry estimates put the market value for baby and children’s products-related industries at 85 billion yuan in 2008, and it’s expected to climb above 100 billion yuan this year.

    Aside from the retailing business, early-education classes are another industry segment that is growing rapidly and producing strong earnings.

    Torsten Stocker, a vice-president of consulting firm Monitor Group China, believes the market for healthy products such as food and skin-care items will be dominated by foreign brands in the long term. He sees local brands holding a bigger market share in toys and strollers with their edge on price.

    The retail industry consultant is particularly optimistic about the education market for children. “Apart from the basic needs of eating and clothing, what Chinese parents care the most about is how to make their offspring achieve academic success. They believe the preparation has to start as early as possible.”

    Source: South China Morning Post

 中国父母为孩子“挥金如土”

       童童（音）自出生以来就是家里花钱最多的人。这个11个月大的男婴每月的固定开销包括从美国进口的婴儿配方奶粉、日本产的一次性尿布、网购的衣物以及各种各样的营养饮品和维生素片。

       童童的父亲杨良峰（音）是北京一家集成电路制造公司的高级工程师，他说小孩平均每月的开支接近1万元人民币，约占家庭总支出的80%。然而童童以后还有更多的开支。杨和妻子最近为儿子报名参加一个“早期教育班”，一次性费用为1.3万元，而夫妻俩的月工资为1.8万元。

       今年30岁的杨良峰说：“学费非常贵。但我妻子坚持说这是必要的开支，儿子需要参加肢体练习课，因为他似乎学东西很慢。”杨说，与他的朋友和同事在孩子身上的投入相比，他们在童童身上的开销还是少的。他说：“我的一个同事说，她的女儿如果不先喝一些进口果汁，根本不喝牛奶。”

       去年内地新生人口大约是1620万，童童只是其中之一。人口统计专家说，内地正在出现一个新的婴儿潮，因为出生于上一个婴儿潮(20世纪80年代）的孩子现在已经进入结婚生子的年龄。出生人口不断增长的态势可能会延续到2015年。这个婴儿潮正在催热婴幼儿用品市场。

       截至去年年底，中国约有2.46亿年龄在14岁以下的儿童，在一线和二线城市，每个孩子的平均年支出接近1万元。据产业估算，在2008年，婴幼和儿童用品相关市场价值约为850亿元，今年有望超过一千亿元。

       除了零售业，早期教育班是另一个快速发展、回报高的产业。

       美国咨询公司摩立特集团中国区负责人托尔斯滕·斯托克认为，诸如食品和护肤品等健康用品市场将长期被外国品牌把持，而本土品牌凭借低价占据玩具和婴儿车市场的大部分份额。

       这位零售业咨询顾问对儿童教育市场的前景尤为乐观。他说：“除了吃、穿等基本需求外，中国父母最关心的是如何让自己孩子取得学业上的成功。他们相信这种准备越早越好。”