'Wolf dad' stirs debate over 'stick parenting'

Wang Xiuling, a kindergarten teacher in northeastern Heilongjiang province, said the wolf method actually tells parents that school exams are the only yardstick for evaluating their children's success.

Xu Yan, dean of the School of Psychology at Beijing Normal University, said that many, if not all parents hope their children become elites, but that way of thinking ignores their children's personal choices and feelings.

The Western philosophy of "all roads lead to Rome" seems to have never worked in China, where prestigious universities and Fortune magazine's top 500 companies have become the only markers of success, Xu said.

Xu said many parents would not send their children to vocational schools even if that meant the the child could get a job.

"Vocational school students and blue collar workers are of lower social status than Peking University graduates. That's why the wolf dad and his children are considered successful," Xu said.

Meanwhile, Li Xinghua, a student at Luxun Middle School in Beijing, said he would never want a wolf dad.

"I would rather go to a second-rate college in exchange for tolerant parents. There is no universal standard for success. Steve Jobs dropped out of college, but he changed the world," Li said.