Chinanews, Beijing, June 5 – The Horizon Research Group conducted a survey about Chinese parents and their children in May last year and this year. Based on a random sampling method, the survey, done in May last year, investigated about 1,095 people living in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xinxiang, Jinzhong, and Luzhou. All these people were aged between 18 and 60. The survey shows that 55.5% of the parents did not know who their children's best friends were. Fathers, in particular, knew even less about their children than mothers, as the survey shows only 33.8% of fathers knew who their children's best friends were while 50.8% of mothers did so, the China Youth Daily reported.Parents with little education were less concerned with their children's life, or whom their children played with. The survey shows that among parents that graduated from primary schools or without any educational background, only 33.1% knew who their children's best friends were. Among parents that had received middle school education, the related proportion reached 45.5%.This year's survey was also based on a random sampling. In May 2007, the Horizon Research Group investigated some 1,456 families in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an, Chengdu and Harbin. The survey shows that children under the age of 12 play for less time with their playmates than their parents did when they were young.The survey also shows that most children at present spend only 21.9% of their time playing with their friends, while their parents spent 36.8% of their time with their playmates when they were young. Nowadays, most children spend more time with their grandparents or babysitters than with their parents.