Recently, SCMP reported on an alarming incident that occurred in Zhejiang province (China) when a father almost died of a heart attack while tutoring his son with homework.
The incident has once again raised concerns about the intense academic pressure faced by both Chinese students and parents.
According to information from the City Express news agency of Zhejiang province on December 12, the father, surnamed Zhang, 40 years old, suddenly experienced symptoms of difficulty breathing and chest pain while tutoring his son - a student preparing to take the high school entrance exam.
Mr. Zhang was then taken to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University in critical condition and diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction.
Fortunately, doctors performed emergency coronary bypass surgery in time and successfully saved Mr. Zhang's life.
According to doctors, Mr. Zhang's heart attack was caused by premature coronary artery disease, and the condition was aggravated by accumulated emotional stress.
According to the family, Mr. Zhang regularly supervises his son's studies every day, arranges extra homework sessions every evening, and personally takes care of taking his son to and from cram schools.
Heavy academic pressure has strained the father-son relationship, as the son feels overwhelmed by his father's demands.
Notably, this is not an isolated case.
Earlier this year, another father in Zhejiang was also diagnosed with "central chorioretinopathy", which causes vision disturbances, after becoming agitated while urging his son to do his homework.
Previously in 2018, a 33-year-old mother in Jiangsu province suffered a stroke after getting angry with her daughter for doing her homework too slowly.
This phenomenon reflects the current academic pressure in the country of a billion people, when parents often consider their children's academic achievements as a measure of their own success.
They place high expectations on their children, viewing the Gaokao - the National College Entrance Examination - as the only path to future success.
Competition is intensifying as more than 13 million students take the Gaokao this year, all aiming for places at China's top universities.
"The competitive education environment is draining the energy of both children and parents," commented a Douyin social media user.
Faced with this situation, education expert Ling Zongwei recommends that parents need to control their emotions well, create a healthy learning environment and encourage their children to take responsibility for their own learning.
