Father’s way of parenting girl sparks viral debate
Daughter told to work in muddy field to show what her future looks like without education
A father’s decision to force his daughter to dig for lotus roots by hand to teach her the value of education sparked a debate about how parents should discipline their children.
The father, surnamed Ye, from Hubei province was trying to teach his daughter, 11, a lesson about what life without education would mean for her future.
“My daughter was going through a period of rebellion, and her teacher told me she did not want to go to school any more,” Ye told news platform Yidian Zixun.
Ye decided to bring his daughter to the lotus field where her grandfather works.
The girl spent four hours under the sun picking the roots out of mud, leading to sunburns and peeling skin.
“Take off your shoes quickly and get into the water. If you do not want to go to school, you must surrender to the reality of life,” Ye told the girl in the viral video.
The girl obeyed but cried and wiped away tears with her T-shirt.
The video sparked debate on the Chinese internet, as people weighed in on whether the father was right to teach the girl an “important life lesson” or was unnecessarily harsh.
One person who claimed to be a teacher commented on Weibo: “This is a good idea. I have kept this video in my file and am prepared to show it in my class.”
Another said: “Parents like him should have two or three kids in response to the three-child policy.”
“When will you organise a field trip? I must enrol for my kid to experience how difficult life is,” another user asked.
The video also sparked criticism. “The essence of learning is not to escape a hard life,” one commenter said.
Another added: “It is a good idea that offers her the freedom of choice, but it is hazardous and the little girl had a bad sunburn.”
Strict parenting in China has sparked debates for years. Many believe in the maxim of “spare the rod and spoil the child”.
On January 1 this year, a new law that regulates how parents care for their children came into effect.
In the nation’s first case, a court in Hunan province heard the case of a nine-year-old girl who was forced to live with her nanny because her divorced parents neglected her.
If you do not want to go to school, you must surrender to the reality of life
YE, FATHER OF A REBELLIOUS DAUGHTER