A father asked his toddler to 'fill a bowl with tears' because she spent too much time watching TV. (image for representation)
Credit: iStock Photo
A father in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region of southern China has come under severe criticism from netizens when video of him punishing his three-year-old toddler in an unusual way for watching too much television became viral.
The father became angry when his young daughter, Jiajia, engrossed in watching TV did not hear him call her for dinner.
He then shuts down the TV which leads to the child crying. The father then brings a bowl to the girl and asks her to fill the bowl with her tears, and only then she would be allowed to watch TV again.
"You can watch TV again when your tears fill up this bowl," the father said to the child, as reported by Yantai TV.
The video was reportedly recorded by the child's mother and uploaded on a Chinese short-form video app Douyin. Jiajia after gathering her tears in a bowl for more than ten seconds, told her parents that her hands were tired and that it was not possible for her to fill the bowl.
Her father then asked her to smile. The image of the girl giggling with tears in her eyes amused her parents, the publication quoted the mother as saying.
When the video went viral on social media, the father drew widespread criticism and outrage.
There are reports of people in China taking extreme measures as part of their parenting. A couple earlier reportedly punished their child for watching too much TV instead of studying by making him watch TV all night, according to Hindustan Times. They even took turns watching the toddler and keeping him awake. The child initially enjoyed watching television but would eventually become exhausted and start crying but would not be allowed to sleep until 5:00 am, the report said.
The Times of India reported that in 2022, a father in Hubei province made his 11-year-old daughter dig lotus roots in the scorching sun to appreciate the value of education.