A mother in central China has captivated mainland social media with an unconventional homework hack that has her restless son pedalling an old sewing machine while studying.
According to Dazhong Daily, a primary school boy from Anyang, Henan province, struggled to stay focused during homework.
He would fiddle with his eraser, shake his legs and repeatedly leave his seat.
His mother then moved his grandmother’s old sewing machine into the study and let him pedal it as he wrote.
The method appeared to work. The boy kept both his hands and feet busy and stayed focused for more than an hour with noticeably better efficiency.
The unnamed mother told the mainland media that the machine was made by Feiren, an old Chinese brand. She lubricated it before use so it ran almost silently.
She also fitted it with a new tabletop and added a desk support to stop the boy from bending his head too low while writing.
Video shared online shows the boy pedalling in a steady rhythm as his head moves slightly with the motion and his pen keeps gliding across the page.
The case has stirred debate on mainland social media over inventive parenting.
One supporter claimed the method made medical sense.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), tiptoe exercises are believed to draw internal heat downward which may help clear the mind during intense work or study.
Another online user wrote that the steady motion and vibration could help from a sensory integration perspective by stimulating the brain and calming a child who finds it hard to sit still.
Some people said the story reminded them of their own childhood, when their families could not afford a proper desk and they had to do homework on their grandmother’s sewing machine.
Others praised the mother for choosing creativity over anger.
But not everyone saw the issue as a matter of discipline.
“Many parents need to rethink the balance between study and daily life. Heavy homework loads often eat into children’s rest time and lead to fatigue, poor concentration and worsening eyesight,” said one person.
Homework has long been a flashpoint in many Chinese households.
Amid fierce academic competition, some parents still pack children’s after-school hours with online lessons and private tutoring.
Others have turned to unusual focus hacks such as asking children to step on footballs or pedal bicycle-style devices while doing homework.
In one widely discussed case, a mother in Zhejiang province, eastern China, live-streamed her daughter’s homework sessions so tens of thousands of viewers could watch and supervise her study. -- SOUTHY CHINA MORNINF POST
