Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily new

With two local university students working as domestic helpers, more parents have recommended that their children follow suit during their winter vacation, eastday.com reported today.
Last weekend, East China Normal University canceled  cooperation with a housekeeping service company which planned to recruit university students to relieve a shortage of domestic helpers for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday. However, over the past week, more than 10 students from other universities have signed-up with the company.
Two local female students, a second-year student from Tongji University and a freshman from the East China University of Science and Technology, started  work last weekend. They are both native Shanghaiese, from decent economic backgrounds. They have taken the job to gain experience, explained an employee with the housekeeping company, adding that the two employers concerned are well-off and have employed ayis to do the daily chores while the students only have to play games and tutor their children for a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan (US$248).
To avoid being troubled by publicity, the students and their employers are trying to keep things low-key.
More than 20 parents have recommended that their children do the work. "People of our generation have experienced life's hardships, but my daughter has no such experience, so I want to encourage her to see this aspect of life," said a mother, surnamed Huang. Children are looked-after by their parents, and they lack opportunities to serve others, said another parent.