Parents in China force 8-year-old son to watch TV entire night as punishment for watching too much TV

A couple in China has sparked outrage for their strict parenting techniques. The parents of an eight-year-old boy punished their child for watching too much TV. It is quite common for kids to get scolded by their parents for too much screen time, but in this case, netizens say the parents have gone too far.

Seeing their kid spend a lot of time watching TV, the parents punished him by making him watch TV the entire night, according to the South China Morning Post.

As per reports, the parents had left their son at home, and instructed him to finish his homework. They had also told him to sleep by a certain time.

However, when the parents returned home, they saw that their 8 year old was still watching television. The boy had not finished his homework nor taken a shower. His parents, a couple from Hunan province in Central China, then decided to punish him by ordering him to watch TV the entire night.

The boy was calm at the beginning and he ate snacks while watching TV. During the night, he became exhausted. He tried to sneak into his bed to sleep, but his mother forced him to return and continue watching the TV. The boy even cried, as per the reports. The parents took turns to keep an eye on the boy and made him stay awake until 5 AM.

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The incident led to a heated debate on parenting and punishment in Mainland China. Some parents shared their similar experiences on harsh methods to discipline children. Some believe that strict parenting has a positive impact on children.

Others felt that the punishment was too harsh. “The punishment was too harsh, and what if the boy starts to get used to staying up late?” one user said on Weibo.

In October 2021, China drafted a law to punish parents for children's bad behaviour.

In the draft of the family education promotion law, guardians will be reprimanded and ordered to go through family education guidance programmes if prosecutors find very bad or criminal behaviour in children under their care, according to Reuters.

The law also prohibits parents from using violence to educate children on how to behave.

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According to experts, youngsters with strict parents, such as those who use threats and violent behavior to discipline their child, can develop depression.

Such pressures can also lead to other health problems for the child, such as sleep deprivation, eating disorders, and anxiety. It can also cause low self-esteem and poor academic performance.