Debate: Left-behind kids

Proper education, social security needed

Ye Jingzhong 

Three decades of economic boom have helped accelerate China's urbanization, and the trend will continue. The rapid economic development may have improved the material condition of the people both in urban and rural areas, but it has also resulted in more than 50 million children being left behind in the countryside.

These left-behind children face numerous problems such as mental and character flaws, because of the long-term absence of their parents.

Although the economic development of industrialized countries was in most cases accompanied by a continuous transfer of economic activity and migration of people from rural to urban areas, the process is different in China.

As farmers-turned-migrant workers have little chance of being permanent urban residents because of difficulty in getting hukou (household registration), high housing prices and other factors, a majority of them have to leave their children back home while venturing to work in cities. In other words, if migrant workers have provided human capital for construction and development in urban areas, their children have made huge sacrifices for the country's economic development. These children have no experience of an ideal childhood or adolescence due to the lack of parental affection and guidance.

Existing studies on the left-behind children have dealt with many problems. But there is need for a more in-depth research because the condition of the children and their social surroundings differ. For example, 69 percent of them live with their grandparents while their fathers and mothers both work in cities, 24 percent live with one parent as the other works in a city, 4 percent live with other relatives, and 3 percent are left to fend for themselves without any caregivers.

The issue of left-behind children first drew attention at the beginning of this century, and many negative aspects have come to light since then.

Generally, the absence of parents and lack of parental love harm their health, education and safety. Compared to children who live with their parents, left-behind children have to shoulder a heavy burden - farm work and even taking care of elderly family members. They also suffer from psychological pressure, too, and can become ill-behaved and go astray.

The responsibilities that many of the children face leave them with little or no time for studies and play. Thus, many of them lose confidence in their abilities and drop out of school at an early age.

Besides, most of the caregivers, feeling pity for the "parentless" children, tend to be less strict with them than their parents would have been and thus let them become selfish, rude or capricious. On the other hand, lack of proper guidance and encouragement makes many of them shy and introvert.

Also, many parents try to "compensate" their children for their "absence" with as much money as they can provide. With money in their hand, they are drawn toward gambling, Internet bars and other vices.

The condition of left-behind children shows they are actually paying the price along with their parents for the country's economic boom. The issue of left-behind children is not a single family's problem but a problem facing the whole of society in its transition period. To improve such children's condition, efforts need to be made to provide them with social security and proper education.

The author is a professor at the College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University.