Parents should beware raising adult babies

CHEN YU, a 22-year-old from Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, is reported to have spent 2 million yuan ($290,200) on studying in New Zealand but failed to get any diploma. He even could not take care of himself and his grandmother had to feed him. Qianjiang Evening News comments:

To use a popular label, the man in the case is a so-called adult baby, because his deeds make him almost the same as a baby. He cannot take care of himself. He is unable to go to school, let alone finish studies. He even relies on his grandmother to feed him.

However, he burns money faster than any normal baby. He spent 2 million yuan ($289,694) in two years overseas, but could not finish even the preparatory courses. We do not mean to judge his choice, but someone who lacks the basic ability to survive has little chance of success in any modern society.

In a later interview, the mother of Chen was in tears and said she regretted not having taught her son well. She also told the story about how she "educated" her son: By meeting all his demands, be they rational or not. When he did not perform well in school, she simply spent money on sending him overseas; Whatever he wanted, she would buy. That was bad for her and bad for him.

No one is born an adult baby. It is a lack of proper education that makes adult babies. The failure of Chen has much to do with his parents giving in to his every demand.

Chen might be an extreme case, because his family happened to be rich enough to spend 2 million yuan on sending him abroad. However, there are many more families that fail to educate their children properly and simply equate "raising a child" with "buying everything" they want. That might in turn make more adult babies for this society, and it is time for them to change.