Parents in China are infamous for piling their children with extracurricular activities and tuition, with many people asking whether this is necessary. But one girl in China, known as Ting Ting, only had one question for her father.
In a Douyin video shared on Oct 14, the primary school student asked: “Do I treat you badly? Is there anything I’m doing wrong? You can tell me. I’ll change.”
“But I need my free time. I can’t spend all my time studying. I need a work-life balance. Do you understand?”
With tears in her eyes, Ting Ting asked her dad if “it’s a problem to play” after finishing her homework and chores.
“No no, you can play for a little bit, but not for too long”, her father replied.
But that did not placate the girl who continued to reason with him, saying: “I always go to bed at 9 pm, do you think I’ve ever played until midnight?”
Even when her father relented and told her she could play since she has been a good girl recently, the latter did not seem pleased at all.
“Recently? I’ve been a good girl every single day,” this girl in China pointed out in between sniffs.
In the two-minute clip, Ting Ting’s father could be heard explaining that he restricted her playtime in the hope that she would continue to behave well in school and at home.
“I know,” the girl lamented. “But whatever you’re asking of me, even a robot couldn’t do it. Even if I grew eight hands, I couldn’t get any busier.
“And you always say that you don’t put any pressure on me. You try it.”
After assuring her father that she was fully capable of taking care of herself, Ting Ting said: “Here’s one last message for you. Please cherish my childhood.”
‘No need to give them so much stress’
In the comments, several netizens praised the well-spoken girl for making her case for more playtime.
“Quick-witted and to the point. She has the talent to be a lawyer,” a netizen said, while another praised Ting Ting for having the maturity to confront her dad.
Several netizens also lamented how the increasing pressures from parents meant that it’s hard being a kid these days.
“They are still growing up, there’s no need to give them so much stress,” a netizen said.
In another incident of parents in China giving their children tough love, a boy who turned 11 in January received a birthday cake that left him in tears.
Instead of the promised Pikachu, the cake was decorated with textbook printouts, Chinese media reported then.
And if the message was not clear enough, the icing on the cake in Chinese was: “As long as the world does not end, you have to do your homework”.
To ease the pressure on school children in the fiercely competitive education system, Chinese authorities cracked down on the massive tuition industry last July.
This was followed by an education law that sought to cut the “twin pressures” of homework and off-site tutoring for children.
Under the new law, the authorities are also responsible for asking parents to arrange their children’s schedules to make sure they have enough time for rest and exercise.
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.