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<\/p>\n3:26 pm HKT\u00a0Jun 13, 2014<\/p>\n
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According to Weibo, most Chinese fathers aren\u2019t as comforting as this one, shown kissing his daughter, who was scared by an interactive model of a Tyrannosaurus rex at an exhibit. Reuters
\nAs Father\u2019s Day\u2014an essentially Western-style holiday\u2014gains popularity in China, more people here are looking back on their relationships with their own dads, revisiting at times difficult memories.<\/p>\n
On Sina Corp.SINA -1.13%\u2019s microblogging service Weibo, thousands of Chinese commiserated this week about a common childhood experience: getting beaten at the hands of their pops.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t even count the number of times I got spanked [by my father],\u201d wrote one blogger, counting belt, brooms chairs among her dad\u2019s weapons.<\/p>\n
Corporal punishment is shunned by many parents, especially in the West. But in China, even today, it is often considered an acceptable way of teaching kids a lesson.<\/p>\n
Researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University found a decade ago that \u201cChinese society has little awareness of child abuse as it is known in the West.\u201d While statistics are hard to come by, a 2012 Beijing Times survey at a school for migrants in the capital found that out of 200 students, only one child said he or she had never been beaten by a parent.<\/p>\n
The Chinese notion of guan, roughly meaning \u201cto control\u201d in English, underpins how parents here react to their kids, according to Ivy Wong, a psychology professor at the University of Hong Kong. The focus on guan in China, she said, is thought to stem from Confucian traditions that emphasize discipline and obedience.<\/p>\n
By contrast, she said, Western parents are more likely to choose milder forms of punishment for children, with some countries in the West having legislated against parents hitting children.<\/p>\n
Such laws may make sense given how physical punishments can damage a child\u2019s psychology. Children who get spanked are at increased risk for mental illnesses such as depression, are more likely to exhibit violent behavior themselves and have strained relationships with parents, said Ms. Wong.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, parents in China have felt compelled to be especially strict, thanks in part to the desire to ensure their only child succeeds in life. But these days, some modern-day Chinese dads are changing their parental attitudes, with some growing even more relaxed in discipline than Western parents.<\/p>\n
This past year, a reality show titled \u201cDad, Where Are We Going?\u201d\u2014which features celebrity fathers and their sons working together to succeed at different tasks such as cooking\u2014became a big hit in China. Separately, a survey of 500 Chinese dads by communications company JWT last November found that many don\u2019t even want to scold their kids. Instead, Chinese fathers said playing the family chauffeur was their most important role, compared to many of their American counterparts, who said discipline came in first.<\/p>\n
Among the memories that users recalled from their childhood on Weibo, though some were bitter, many said their punishments were a form of parental love.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo beat is to care, to scold is to love,\u201d read one comment.<\/p>\n
A girl said her father beat her only because he was worried when she returned home late. Another wrote her father would buy her delicacies to eat the day after beating her, and apply ointment to her bruises. \u201cAt the time I was thinking, \u2018Why not just not beat me in the first place?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t know where he is now, but if it were possible, I would actually like him to beat me again.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the Chinese woman who suffered strikes from her father\u2019s belts, brooms and chairs, she lamented the passage of time, writing that she still loves her father very much.<\/p>\n
\u201cSlow down, time\u2026I don\u2019t want to see [my father] grow old,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2013Chao Deng<\/p>\n
From:\u00a0http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/chinarealtime\/2014\/06\/13\/chinese-fathers-who-beat-their-kids-get-a-beating-online\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
3:26 pm HKT\u00a0Jun 13, 2014 According to We … Continue reading