随着我国经济政治体制改革的不断深入，以及社会保障制度建设的滞后，我国城市新贫困问题日趋恶化，为此我国政府逐渐建立起了城市居民最低生活保障制度。该制度以家庭为救助单位，以满足贫困人口的基本生活为目标，在维护社会稳定方面发挥了重要作用。但其也存在着严重的缺陷：救助水平过低；采取整齐划一的救助方式，忽略了贫困群体内部的差异，以及由此导致的家庭需求与支出的差异性：只考虑贫困者基本生存需求，而忽略了诸如教育、医疗、交通等其他方面的需求。本文主要阐述我国城市低保家庭采取的儿童养育策略，并从该视角探讨我国城市居民最低生活保障制度在贫困儿童保护方面的功能与不足，以及解决我国城市儿童贫困、打破贫困代际循环的措施与办法。本文的数据来源于北京师范大学社会发展与公共政策学院于2008年9、10、11三个月份在陕西、武汉、福州三市的社会调研，总共包括了1506户城市低保家庭的调查问卷及91份个案访谈资料。分析探讨了我国城市地区低保家庭的基本经济情况、儿童与其他家庭特殊成员相比较给家庭带来的经济及精神方面的压力、贫困家庭对儿童采取的养育策略以及低保儿童在接受救助后的生活现状。研究发现：1. 低保家庭接受救助后经济状况依然很差，低保救助金是贫困家庭重要收入来源。2．养育儿童是贫困家庭经济压力的重要来源之一。随着儿童年龄的增长，他们给家庭带来的压力也在不断增加。3. 儿童在贫困家庭中具有特殊地位。在低保家庭特殊成员中，除了重病病人外，高中生和大学生给家庭带来的经济压力最大；其次是义务教育阶段的学生、学龄前儿童。儿童对家庭经济的影响超过了慢性病人、残疾人、老年人。儿童给贫困家庭带来沉重经济压力的同时，也给家庭带来了精神上的慰藉以及摆脱贫困的希望。孩子学习好是贫困家长最大的安慰；贫困儿童的受教育水平越高，给家庭带来的希望就越大。4.贫困家庭中的儿童在教育受到贫困家长的高度重视，贫困家长宁可自己省吃俭用，也要满足儿童学习方面的需求。如果家庭收入有所增加，多数家长也会将其用在孩子身上，尤其是孩子的学习方面。5. 与城市普通家庭儿童相比，城市贫困儿童在接受各种社会救助后，在基本生活、教育、医疗、交通及社会活动参与方面都存在着较大的差距。由此本文得出：儿童在我国城市低保家庭中拥有特殊地位，他们给家庭带来沉重经济压力的同时也给家庭带来了希望。我国城市贫困家长非常重视儿童的教育，在家庭经济条件极其有限的情况下，他们会将一部分低保救助金用于儿童的教育投资。从这个角度来看，城市低保救助金虽然数额不高，但作为贫困家庭重要收入来源之一，它在保障贫困儿童接受教育方面发挥了重要作用，同时也表明我国以城市低保制度及其他消除儿童贫困的社会救助政策还存在不足之处，需要进一步的完善。

As China’s social resource allocation by market mechanism and the deepening of industrial adjustment, as well as the lagging of social security reform, The new poverty in urban areas is getting worse, then our government established the system of subsistence allowances for urban residents gradually. This system provides assistance by family unite, to meet the basic livelihood of the poor people, and playing a crucial role in maintaining social stability. But there are still some serious shortcomings, such as it doesn’t distinguish between different types of poor people, and the difference in poor family’s demand and spending. This article focuses on poor families’ strategy of raising children at urban areas of China, and thes discusses the function and defects of the system of subsistence allowances for urban residents with respect to protect children living in poor families, and the solution of reducing urban child poverty, to find out the methods of breaking intergenerational cycle of poverty.The data comes from the social research of the school of social development and public policy at Beijing Normal University in September, October and November in 2008 in Xi’an, Wuhan and Fuzhou, including 1506 questionnaires and 97 cases of urban poor families. To analysis the basic ecomominc situation of urban poor families, the economic and mental stress of poor families with children and other special family members, poor families’ child-rearing strategies and poor children’s current living situation after receiving assistance.The research found that:First, the economic condition of poor family is still not good after they receive the assistance, subsistence allowance is an important source of family income.Second, raising children is an important source of economic stress in poor families, as children growing older, the pressure they bring to the poor families is increasing.Third, children have a special place in poor family. among the special family members in urban poor families, in addition to seriously ill patients, the senior high school students and the colleage students bring the highest economic stress to the poor families, followed by the students in compulsory education and pre-school children. Persons with chronic diseases and disabilities, and the elderly have little effect on the families’ economy.The senior high school students and colleage students bring heavy economic stress to the poor families, but also they bing spiritual comfort and hope of escaping of poverty. The poor adults pay much attention on the education of children, they would rather live more frugally to meet the need of children’s education. And once the family income increases, nearly half of the parents will invest in children’s study.Fourth, the poor adults care about their children’s education very much, they would like to live frugally to meet the need of children’s education. If the family income has increased, most of the adults will give it to children, particularly investing in children’s education.Fifth, compared with children in ordinary families, the children living poor urban families still experience relative deprivation in respect to basic life, education, health care, transportation and social activities, after receiving a variety of social assistance, eapecially the education. It concludes: children have special position in urban poor families, they bring heavy stress to poor families, while they also bring spiritual comfort and hope for the future. The poor adults don’t cut children’s expenditure on education consciously, on the contrary, they try their best to increase their children’s human capital. Even though the poor families’ economic circumstance is limited, poor adults pay part of the assistance payment of subsistence allowances for children’s education. Thus, under the circumstance of China’s social assistance still not perfect, the system of subsistence allowances for urban residents plays an important role in poor children’s survial and development.