Toughest job in the world

With a demanding and unhealthy work culture, and now extra pressure from the school, some parents are finding it hard to cope.

A 15-SECOND clip of a father crying in a classroom got the attention of other parents who started sharing the pressure and hardship they face in raising their children.

The clip was taken during a meeting between parents and their children’s class teacher at an undisclosed primary school.

One man who was sitting at the front row of a classroom broke down when the teacher reminded him that he should respond to messages in the teacher-parent group chat.

“I worked overtime till the wee hours every day, it was impossible for me to check the phone all the time.

“You kept calling me, it is not that I did not want to answer, I was in the meeting and I could not answer,” he is heard saying.

His tale is one of the many told among parents who find it tough balancing time for work and family, especially with the unhealthy work environment in China where doing overtime is a culture in many industries.

It was not entirely the teacher’s fault that led to an adult to break down in front of other parents but it is also the pressure and responsibility weighing on his shoulders. He could not take it anymore. The video went viral, gaining over 50 million hits and generating tens of thousands of discussion on social media platforms.

Netizens sympathised with the father and said they understood him.

“It’s pitiful, we are all the same, life is tough after all,” wrote one of them on Sina Weibo, Chinese’s Twitter.

Schoolteachers have also come out to explain that they were merely carrying out their duties.

“We don’t want to pressure parents too, (the school) kept asking us to strengthen communication with the parents every day.

“During the one-month summer holiday, every day we were asked to forward this and that to the group chat, requiring parents to respond to them.

“We still have to comfort annoyed parents, we want a break too but the school didn’t allow us to stop work even during the holidays,” wrote a teacher.

It is not easy especially for working parents.

“We have too many burdens, from our career, housing loans, making ends meet to children’s education and upbringing. We have had enough,” another Internet user replied to the topic of discussion.

Many parents have called for the authorities to look into the problem and find a win-win solution to ease their burdens while not neglecting their kids’ education.

“Those days parents just left the educational responsibility to the school but today, it is a totally different scenario.

“Nowadays, parents have to help children with their homework and supervise their revision,” said a netizen.

A father revealed that his son went home with a task given by his teacher – to complete a handicraft using ice-cream sticks.

“We were unable to eat that much ice-cream.

“So, I ended up buying 30 bars, stood at the entrance of my apartment and gave them to the neighbours.

“Not only this, I have to watch them finish eating and collect the sticks,” he said.

Another parent said her child was asked to bring various flowers to school the following day.

“She would be reprimanded for plucking flowers by the roadside, so my husband and I went out late night to do it.

“We were so afraid that we would be arrested,” she said while urging teachers to give pupils more time to complete such home assignments.

Parenting is the toughest job in the world.

What you think is the best for your kids does not mean they think the same.

Lack of communication between parents and children and failing to understand the juniors’ needs are common reasons as some parents would find out, albeit a bit too late.

On Sept 17, a 14-year-old student jumped to his death from a school building in Wuhan city of Hubei province.

The teenager was punished for playing a card game with two other students in the classroom by his teacher, who also requested to meet his parents.

So, his mother went to the school. After learning about the son’s misbehaviour, the angry mother scolded and slapped him twice in front of his teacher and other students.

CCTV footage showed that after the mother walked away with the teacher, the teenager wiped his tears, stood quietly for a few minutes before jumping from the fifth floor.

The tragedy has sparked debates on proper parental treatment.

Some people said the incident could have been avoided if there was better communication between the middle school student and his mother.

“Parents have to consider their children’s self-esteem and should not beat them in public,” said one netizen, who also urged the adults to pay more attention to children’s psychological health.

Some others have called for all to stop blaming the mother as she would be the saddest person in this tragedy.