Recently, SCMP reported on the story of a woman in Zhejiang province, China who attracted attention on social media after posting a video of her punishing her son by splashing water on him.
The action was taken after the mother received a call from the teacher, informing her that her son had thrown water and milk cartons at his classmates from the third floor of the school.
In the video posted on the Douyin platform and which has attracted nearly 6 million views, the mother with the account name "lanxichen" asked her son to stand near the window of the second-floor apartment, then continuously poured water from a small basin on the boy.
Although the son protested and cried "No!", the mother still insisted on carrying out the punishment, asking again: "Why not? Didn't you say this was fun?".
The boy explained that he had seen his classmates playing around and thought it looked funny. His mother decided to let him “experience being doused with water as if he were a victim” to teach him a lesson in empathy. She only stopped the dousing when he showed remorse.
This educational method has received widespread support from the online community. Many Douyin users praised the mother's parenting style, saying that she calmly taught her child through experience and reasoning instead of venting her anger.
However, there are also some opinions that this punishment may be "too harsh".
In response to the criticism, the mother asked the opposite question: "What if next time my son thinks throwing rocks at others is fun?"
The incident sparked discussion about child discipline methods in China.
Many advocates of a "spare the rod" approach like this one believe it helps children learn important lessons about proper behavior and empathy.
Finally, according to SCMP, bullying remains a pressing issue in schools in China today. Parents and educators are looking for effective ways to prevent negative behavior and teach children the importance of respect and empathy for others.
