From being an economic boon, one-child policy may breed a serious social problem

The mainland's one-child policy has fostered a buying spree in children's products as adults pour out their love for the young.

The country started to implement population control in the 1970s, giving benefits to couples who had only one child.

The government hoped the family planning policy could ease the country's economic and social problems at a time when state leaders were pledging to improve people's livelihoods.

From its implementation to 2000, the authorities said, the policy had prevented more than 250 million births. It had also led to an increasing number of forced abortions and female infanticide, some analysts saying it had caused a significant gender imbalance.

While it drew charges of human rights violations, the one-child policy was a golden bonanza for manufacturers and retailers.

As families were forced to focus on quality rather than quantity of children, the adults, rich and poor alike, lavished their offspring with whatever they could afford, from clothes and food to education.

Such spending and the stress that comes with growing affluence have made many young couples unwilling to have a second child. Many young urban couples now say: 'We can't afford a second child.'