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Karachi’s kids get more pocket money than their buddies in Lahore
Staff Report
KARACHI: On average, children in Karachi get Rs 65 a week, totalling Rs 3,380 a year, which is slightly higher than their counterparts in Lahore whose parents only cough up Rs 61 or Rs 3,172 a year.
These results were released on Thursday as part of a Cartoon Network (CN) survey in different cities across Pakistan. CN pointed out that the 3.1 million children surveyed are given Rs 9.9 billion in pocket money, out of which they spend Rs 3.6 billion and save Rs 6.3 billion, annually.
CN conducted the survey called ‘New Generation Pakistan 2006,’ through Oasis International in five cities - Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Hyderabad. The survey was conducted on 1,679 child and parent pairs from December 2005 to January 2006. Children between the ages of seven and 14 were interviewed.
On Thursday, Turner International Asia Pacific Research and Market Development, Vice President Duncan Morris said that children received an average pocket money of Rs 59 per week. They also received an annual sum of Rs 565 as gift money.
“The Rs 9.9 billion in pocket money breaks down into Rs 8.7 billion in cash with Rs 1.2 billion in gift money,” he said.
Those with cable TV got Rs 63 a week, meaning Rs 3,276 a year while those without cable were content with a weekly ’salary’ of Rs 50 or Rs 2,600 a year. Also on a weekly basis, boys were paid Rs 60 or Rs 3,120 a year, while girls got Rs 59 a week or Rs 3,068 a year.
The children also go to the bank to keep a guard on their weekly fortunes. Forty-one percent chose Habib Bank, according to the survey, seven percent chose Muslim Commercial Bank and four percent banked at National Bank and the United Bank.
The survey also reported that parents always consulted their children while shopping for cars, televisions, mobile networks and phone sets and computers.
A comparison was also drawn on breakfast. “Sixty-one percent of mothers said their little ones did skip their early morning meal, while 57 percent children also agreed,” Morris said.
Eighty-seven percent of mothers said their children have three proper meals in a day, which was agreed upon by 84 percent of children. Seventy-nine percent of mothers said that their children’s diet contained plenty of fruits and vegetables, while 80 percent of children supported their mom’s answer.
Also, 89 percent of mothers watched TV with their children. Out of this figure, 52 percent watch it daily with their kids. Sixty-two percent of these women watch CN along with their toddlers.
Mothers and their children also agreed to the importance of education. Ninety-six percent of mothers said academic achievement was the key to their child’s success, something that 94 percent of children agreed to. Husbands and fathers came under a bit of flak. Both mother and child, 77 percent each, agreed that the men of the house spent too much time at work. Still while 93 percent of mothers said they would like to spend time with their children, only 77 percent of children agreed with them.
The ancestral battle of the boy-girl battle remained balanced with each side equally demanding that they be bought something whenever taken on a shopping trip. The percentage was 19 for boys and 20 for girls.
Also, parents did not discriminate when buying for their children; 17 percent of girls and 16 percent of boys almost always had their demands met. The survey also revealed that 35 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls loved Shahid Afridi as their favourite sports personality.
Twenty-six percent of boys love to exercise as compared to 18 percent of girls.
Sixty-eight and 61 percent of boys and girls respectively, use the computer to play games. Girls did outdid boys while using the PC for their homework. Sixty-four percent of girls as against 56 percent boys use the computer to do their homework on time.
Seventy-nine percent of girls watch TV over the weekend as compared to 78 percent of boys. Forty-eight percent of girls enjoy watching TV the most as compared to 41 percent boys in the same genre. It is then surprising that 54 percent of boys watch cartoons as compared to 48 percent of girls.
The survey also revealed that 84 percent of children share their bedrooms, while only 16 percent have their own rooms. Forty-one percent of these children have their own colour TV set, 20 percent have their own computer, nine percent of these seven to 14-year-olds their own mobile phones while four percent of them also have their own black-and-white TV sets.
This was the third survey conducted by the Cartoon Network, but the first in Pakistan. The first survey was ‘GenerAsians’ conducted in 1998 across 18 cities in 12 countries. A similar survey was conducted in 2000 in 29 cities across 14 countries.
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Anyways, We were meant to chop wood, carry water, work the land and be active, be wild and spontaneous - Natural. Be natural. We weren’ meant to eat plastic foods manufactured in plants. We were meant to eat food grown from THE EARTH that provides the nutrients, minerals, energy and building blocks for every cell and organ in our body. We also weren’ meant to spend so much time indoors. We were meant to walk along the water, sit under the trees and dream under the stars. That’ why so many people who live in big cities such as New York are naturally drawn to parks (something I was reflecting on few days back in a conversation with my CEO).
