Survey: Czech children want to be healthy, rich, happy

Prague, Jan 10 (CTK) - Czech children primarily want to be healthy, rich and happy, while beauty is of a minor importance to them, daily Pravo writes Thursday, releasing the data of the latest survey and mini census conducted by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU).

The data may reflect the values of current society in which wealth is often the basic criterion of success and beauty, the analysts said.

"A number of examples have revealed that in order to become rich, one does not have to be always clever, but to be able to do virtually everything," financial adviser Frantisek Machacek is quoted as saying.

When asked what the teenagers "wish to have," they mostly frequently said it was a computer along with the Internet (57.1 percent), followed by a cell phone, Pravo writes.

A TV set and MP3 player took the last places primarily because virtually all households of the teenagers are already equipped with them, it adds.

When it comes to intergenerational relationships, the situation is not bad in the Czech Republic.

Some 29 percent of Czech children aged 9-16 years see their grandparents daily and 44 percent every week, Pravo writes.

On the other hand, neither parents nor grandparents are a source of information for teenagers in the sphere of sex, it adds.

The initiating role is primarily played by friends (25.9 percent) and the Internet (22.7 percent), while only 13.8 percent of children are provided the basic information on sex by their parents, Pravo writes.

Psychologists warn of the teenagers gaining biased information and absolutely unrealistic and dehumanised ideas, fully separated from what is vital, which is emotion.

Nevertheless, the parents can be satisfied with the results of the mini census, Pravo writes.

One-quarter of the children aged 9-16 are ready to take them along to a desert island. Another quarter mentioned a boy-friend or girl-friend and 16 percent would prefer a knife, it adds.

The mini census has confirmed the notorious fact that Czech children are poor readers.

Some 67.3 percent of them said they prefer an interesting story as a film, while one-quarter prefer reading, Pravo writes.

About 17 percent play with their computers during their spare time, but only 4.2 percent of them read, it adds.