Instead of lego, car toys or dolls, wealthy families are buying Ipads and European tours for their children on the International Children's Day on June 1.
Parent pull out all the stops to buy high tech gadgets for children
Nguyen Huu Thang, father of a 12 year old daughter said he is trying to choose between an Iphone 4S and a Samsung Galaxy tablet for his daughter.
"Money isn’t the issue, I just want to get her something useful and make my daughter happy." he said. "She already has a heap of normal toys at home and this is a special day."
Thanh, another parent has a more simple reasoning, "My kid likes this Ipad so I bought it."
It’s not just high tech gadgets that are popular on Children's Day.
Hai Yen, a worker at an information technology company said, "My boss is rewarding his kid for being an outstanding student and so this June 1, my boss has booked a VND200 million (USD9,600) European tour. I can only give my kids gifts worth tens of thousand of VND."
A tourism company said they have a good number of booked tours on June 1, with Europe the most popular destination. The cheapest tours are worth over VND80 million (USD3,833) per passenger, with an average tour worth over VND100 million (USD4,800) per passenger.
Some people even without children are still spending money on the occasion. They aim to improve their relationship with their boss.
Le Duy Hoan, a worker at a construction company said aside from being a hard worker, he and a co-worker bought a VND20 million (USD958) Vaio laptop for their boss' kid.
"A gift is also a way to express your sincerity, the more expensive your gift is, the more sincere your feelings. However to express that, we had to spend two months' salary." Hoan further said normal toys no longer interested the little 'boss'.
A headmaster of a nursery school in Dong Da District said that many parents now think presents should be what the child wants and also provides a way of showing off.
