The race to stay ahead of the curve begins as early as preschool, with Beijing parents signing up their tots for elementary school-level math and English classes, costing usually between $80 and $150 an hour. I can only make sure she's at home and has food to eat." Peer pressure for parents of preschoolers "We just physically are not able to expend the same amount of energy on our daughter No. They just do not possess the competitiveness and willingness to struggle." And, she says, most of her focus is on her older child. She affiliates with yet another Chinese parenting faction: the foxi, or Buddhist style, which is relatively relaxed and holistic.īut she concedes that her daughters do need some pressure to succeed: "I do not think my children are as good as I was when I was a kid. "We all wish for our children to attend a good university and hope that our children will discover and develop their true interests," says Audrey Wang, a mother of two daughters in Beijing. But even those who don't self-identify as jiwa push their kids hard. Jiwa parents insist they have only their children's best interests at heart. Now they want to give their children every advantage possible, especially as China's society gives way to growing class inequality. But many come from humble backgrounds and worked hard as China's economy boomed. "They care very little whether their children enjoy what they do. "I have encountered some Haidian jiwa before. In Haidian, the city's university district, jiwa parents have a reputation for being test crazed. Li, who lives in a central Beijing district, considers herself relatively laid back, far less rigorous than the jiwa of Shunyi, a northeastern Beijing district where parents are infamous for splurging on expensive extracurricular activities like tennis, Math Olympiad coaching, ballet and cram classes that last until 10 or 11 p.m. At 11 p.m., Li can relax and see her husband. They sometimes eat in the car in between activities. Then there's dance practice, an online math class and a swim session. Li's days begin at 6 a.m., when she prepares to send her older daughter to school. "They are more eager than ever to propel their kids into elite circles and more willing than ever to cut back on their own spendings in order to invest in their children." Some jiwa parents are more laid back than others "Because of these policies, parents are even more convinced of the potential for social immobility," says Rainy Li, a Beijing jiwa parent of two daughters, one 11 years old and the other a toddler. Parents wait in July for their children attending a private after-school class in Beijing's Haidian district. At a time when the government wants to see families having more children and raising more future workers, it fears that hypercompetitive parenting pressures - combined with the meteoric growth of China's private education sector, now worth billions of dollars - are deepening inequality and discouraging couples from having larger families, a priority of the country's new three-child policy.Īs more parents complain about the burnout brought on by jiwa culture, there's concern that the financial and emotional toll is making many reluctant to have a second, much less a third, child. Jiwa parenting culture, a relatively new phenomenon, is now in the crosshairs of Chinese authorities. The term is used to describe aggressive helicopter parenting and comes from an unproven Chinese-medicine treatment dating back to the 1950s in which a person is injected with fresh chicken blood to stimulate energy. These are China's jiwa, or "chicken" parents, who are known for their attentive - some say obsessive - parenting style. Some even buy second homes next to the best public schools.įorget tiger moms. They scour online forums and swap tips on the most exclusive tutors and best sports coaches. Students and parents walk after a private after-school session in Beijing's Haidian district, where competition is cutthroat for a spot in top schools.īEIJING - They schedule their children's days in 15-minute increments.
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