A Chinese mother sparked online praise after pouring water on her son for intentionally splashing his classmates. - Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
BEIJING (SCMP): A mother in eastern China poured water on her primary-school-aged son multiple times as a form of punishment after he doused his classmates at school, sparking applause online.
Nearly 6 million people on Douyin viewed the clip of the mother dumping water on her son, who was standing outside their housing block in Zhejiang province.
Identified by her Douyin account name, @lanxichen, she instructed her son to stand closer to their second-floor flat window while she continuously poured water on him from a small basin.
Despite her son’s protests, she insisted on carrying out the punishment.
When the boy began screaming “No!”, she asked him: “Why not? Didn’t you say this was fun?”
The mother was punishing her son because a teacher had called her earlier that day to report that her son had thrown water on his classmates from the school’s third floor, in addition to tossing milk cartons at them.
He claimed he saw his classmates horseplaying and thought it looked like fun.
As a consequence, the mother decided to “let him experience the water as if he were a victim.”
“Did you think about the kids downstairs when you threw water at them?” she asked her son when he complained that he was cold.
Despite her son’s protests, the mother insisted on the punishment to teach him a lesson in empathy by letting him taste his own medicine. - Photo: Douyin
She ceased pouring water on her son once he expressed remorse.
Her teaching method garnered widespread support online.
“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,” remarked one user on Douyin.
Another added: “Nobody loves kids as much as their mothers. She was doing this for his own good.”
However, some questioned whether the mother’s punishment was “too harsh”.
In response to those criticisms, the mother asked: “What if next time he thinks tossing stones at people is fun?”
Playground bullying is a pressing issue in schools across China. - Photo: Shutterstock/SCMP
Similar instances of tough love have also received acclaim online.
In 2022, a person shared on Facebook how two parents in Taiwan informed their rebellious sons that they would cancel their family trip if the children continued to be loud and disruptive on a train.
Believing their parents were bluffing, the boys persisted in their disobedience. The individual reported witnessing the parents purchase four return tickets after disembarking.
When the boys began to plead with their parents to change their minds, the children received a firm “no”. One parent stated: “We just gave you both a chance.”
The poster concluded: “I believe these kids will never misbehave on public transportation again.” - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
