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The Children of China – Part 1 of 2

China is one of the fastest developing countries in the world. It boasts a population of over 1.3 billion, and twenty one percent within that number are children (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2006). They witness disease, death, poverty, and much more on a daily basis. With such a large percentage of the children in the world coming from China, people need to take the time to learn about their education, health care, family life, and other culture issues they face on a daily basis.

The health care involving the children in China continues to improve with each year. The annual number of births in 2004 was 17,372 and the number of children under the age of five that died was 539 in 2004 (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund [UNICEF], 2006). “While child mortality rates in developed coastal areas approach those of industrialized countries, in most Western provinces they are 3-5 times higher” (UNICEF). Pneumonia, asphyxia, premature birth, and low birth weight are cited as the main causes of neonatal deaths in China (UNICEF). The main cause of death in children ages one to fourteen is injury (UNICEF). One of the positive additions to the lower number of child deaths is the increase in the number of women that are choosing to breastfeed their babies. Breastfeeding goes hand in hand with the nutritional status of the children in China. The nutrition of the children has greatly improved with more mothers now breastfeeding and with supplementary food being introduced. Overall, today it is extremely rare to come across large cases of malnutrition.

A child’s education is a very important aspect of the Chinese culture. “Since the early 20th century, mathematics and natural sciences have been considered to be the most prestigious academic subjects” (Tsui, 2005). Because of the emphasis put on school, children are instilled with the drive to study and work hard. “Parents encourage children to work hard by bragging and expressing their anxiety about their children’s school rank to neighbors and colleagues, often in front of their children” (Tsui). In most Chinese cities, the students’ examination grades are put in order from best to worst and made known to everyone (Tsui). The ranking system puts a lot of pressure on students to excel in their classes in order to earn a higher ranking with the next exam. The teachers use public correction and criticism as a means of correcting a child in the classroom (Vaughan, 1993). Teachers believe that using these methods “will help the child work harder so as to avoid future mistakes” (Vaughan). The public reprimand is often referred to as a “loss of face”. “The importance of ‘face’ has a long history in Chinese culture…it is a reflection upon the whole family” (Vaughan). If the child performed poorly, then it was seen as the responsibility of the parents or other family members that the child lived with at the time.

Copyright (c) 2006 Stacey Shearer

Stacey is an excellent student where she is majoring in Family and Life Development at Liberty University. She can be found at sunydays.blogspot.com/ sunydays.blogspot.com