Chinese parents punish kid for high screen time by making him watch TV all night

For an eight-year-old boy in China, the bizarre punishment for watching too much television was continuing to do so, for a much longer period of time.

An unnamed boy from China’s Hunan province landed in trouble after his parents returned home and caught him in front of the TV set, in spite of instructing him before leaving that "he must complete his homework and then head straight to bed". 

According to South China Morning Post, the child headed to bed after his parents arrived. However, his punishment began when his mother brought him back to the living room and forced him to watch TV for the rest of the night in a bizarre parenting strategy. For a few minutes into the punishment, the boy had the time of his life.

However, as the night wore on, he began crying as he wished to sneak back into his bed. Despite the child being in agony, the parents took turns watching him and making sure he spends the rest of the night in front of the TV. It was only at five in the morning when he was finally allowed to go to bed.

Social media users react to the punishment

The counteractive approach of the parents has garnered multiple reactions on the internet. While some have called it classic tough love parenting, others have called it too harsh. “I had a similar experience. After taking our three-year-old son, who is a fan of KFC, to eat hamburgers and chicken for three days, now his enthusiasm has gone,” wrote one user on social media, according to South China Morning Post.

“The punishment was too harsh, and what if the boy starts to get used to staying up late?” another user wondered.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time in China that parents have resorted to strange ways to punish their children. Earlier in August, another eight-year-old boy had to collect recyclable trash to earn 20 yuan and pay back the amount to his grandmother after stealing from her.