China Mum Pours Water On Son To Teach Him A Lesson About Bullying
The boy had thrown water at his friends.
By Sukhbir Cheema — 30 Sep 2024, 03:02 PM
A mother in eastern China poured water over her primary-school-aged son multiple times as punishment for his behaviour at school
A video of the incident, which has garnered nearly six million views on Douyin, showcases a striking example of tough love that has ignited conversations about parenting styles in the country.
According to the South China Morning Post, the mother, known by her Douyin account name @lanxichen, was filmed instructing her son to stand closer to their second-floor flat window while she repeatedly doused him with water from a small basin.
Despite his protests and pleas to stop, she continued the punishment, insisting that he needed to understand the consequences of his actions.
When the boy screamed "No!" in objection, she countered with a pointed question: "Why not? Didn’t you say this was fun?"
Her decision to punish him stemmed from a call she received earlier that day from a teacher who reported that her son had thrown water on his classmates from the third floor of the school, as well as tossed milk cartons at them.
According to him, he had simply seen his classmates horseplaying and thought it looked entertaining.
In a bid to teach her son a lesson in empathy, the mother explained that she wanted him to "experience the water as if he were a victim". She pressed him further, asking, "Did you think about the kids downstairs when you threw water at them?" She only stopped when he finally expressed remorse for his actions.
This unorthodox approach to parenting has sparked widespread support online in China
Comments on Douyin hailed her method as exemplary. One user remarked, "This is the best parenting I have ever seen. The mother was not venting her frustration but calmly teaching her son through experience and reason."
Another user added, "Nobody loves kids as much as their mothers. She was doing this for his own good."
However, not all reactions were positive. Some questioned whether the mother’s method was "too harsh". In response to these criticisms, the boy's mother posed a rhetorical question: “What if next time he thinks tossing stones at people is fun?"
This line of thinking reflects a growing concern about playground bullying, which has become a pressing issue in schools across China.
