Children say they spend too much time at school or taking extra tutoring, and they don't have enough leisure hours, places to play or someone of their own age to play with, a recent survey indicates.

The China Youth and Children Studies Center surveyed about 2,500 children between the ages of eight and 13 in six major Chinese cities including Shanghai about their living and study situation.

The survey found children spend 8.6 hours a day at school on average, slightly more time than their parents spend at work. More than half of the respondents said they spend more than 8 hours at school, with some saying they spend up to 12 hours in the classroom.

More than 60 percent of the students said they also take extra tutoring courses in their spare time.

That leaves almost no playing time for young children, said Sun Hongyan, a researcher at the center and author of a report based on the survey.

Sun pointed out that nearly 53 percent of the children are only allowed to play in their homes, as their parents won't let them play outside in order to encourage them to spend more time studying.

Tan Mali, an associate professor at Tongji University said that children who spend too much time studying at the cost of leisure time will have trouble developing emotionally and mentally.

About half of the survey respondents said they only play with adults, not children of their own age. About 10 percent said they just play by themselves due to a lack of friends of their own age.

"The biggest reason for children's loneliness is the one-child situation," Sun said.

(Shanghai Daily November 29, 2005)