Most families prefer that their children spend time studying and preparing themselves for the future instead of "wasting time" on these type of jobs. They make them live in a bubble until they pass the exams to go to university.

If Chinese young people could think, they'd be burning pictures of a famous mass murderer in the streets.

my college students cant do a family budget, have no clue what the power bill is or even what the phone budget is for their parents and themselves. sheltered is a gross understatement of the problem.

In a way you got a point. My friend from Hong Kong told me he got 1000 dollars per month without doing any chores. That's not RMB that's dollars! I had to mow the grass to earn my 20 dollars everytime and that was front and backyard. I ended up getting a job at a restaurant doing the dirty work while I was still in highschool and left early although the owner seemed to love/like me! It was a japanese restaurant the owner was a jap and he was pretty cool!

Ya made a lot of good comments. South Korean youth are much the same.

very common in European and communist countries. Nothing new. Study first, that is a priority, they spoil their kids unlike North America - go get a job and kick you out the house sometimes at 16.

Do a lot of Chinese youth do this?  Sure.  I have a young colleague at work, she probably makes a typical salary of most girls in her position....something like 3500 rmb/month.  Her new-ish husband has a similar job.  Lets guess he makes about the same, or even 5000 rmb/month.  They have a super nice house and drive a brand new BMW.  Sometimes I see him rolling around in a new H2 Hummer.  Thanks Mom and Dad.

On the other hand, you've got young adults who are working far from home (migrant workers, wai di ren, whatever you want to call them).  These kids with similar qualifications and education, are making about the same salary, except they are living in cheaply rented apartments, taking public transportation, eating cheaply.  Why?  Because they are sending money back home to their parents.  Because their parents are poor farmers in the countryside.

So the answer to the question is "some, but definitely not all".

And yeah, I included young 20-somethings in the definition of "Chinese youth".

I had to work two jobs while I went to school to pay for my bills. It was hell. I didn't get any time for myself, or even to study hard. I would go from my night shift, to school, home where I would sleep a couple hours, and then back to work at three in the afternoon. 

I can understand why you guys would see it as a negative thing for these students to not have to work as they study (the could use the job experience) because of what we had to go through to get where we are, but I would have given anything to have that while I went to school. These kids are given amazing opportunities when it comes to using daddy's money. 

Now, if only they would take those opportunities and and run with them...

Parents pay everything for their children when they're young, and children pay everything for their parents when they're old...it's supposed to work like that according to Chinese TRADITION, yet most of the young people rely on their parents almost till they're late 30s...Both parents and children are to be blamed for this...Parents give too much and children take too much.

I have a brother who can  make good money as he's doing small business on his own, yet he would ask money from my mum from time to time to help him out for whatever reasons he could think of. He even has tried many times to turn to me for help and I'm really sick and tired of it. So I told my mum to stop giving him any financial support. And I"m so done being a sucker. He needs to learn how to finance and how to grow up a little. Helping him with money only make him become more selfish and greedy...

I think it depends how much money the family has.

In my experience if they family has money than it's common believe that children need to focus 110% on studying. THAT is their full time job, their weekends or vacations are spent studyign and going to extra classes.

However, with families that are pretty poor. I do see the kids working jobs, but that's simply to help the family survive. Not because they are trying to get some extra pocket change to by themselves something. 

5,000 years of student loans

I do believe if you are talking about Chinese High School students, they are not able by law to work while in school, not even part time, college students, have no excuse.

Chinese  high school students definitely cannot work and those who do usually it is on the family farm or helping the family shop.

As to university students, I notice that a lot of the girls work hard, very hard, but the boys invariably dont.

Then again, the parents will expect support when they get old, so I guess it makes sense in a Lion-king-Circle-of-Life kinda way.....