why are there so many “left-behind kids” in rural china? course hero

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Why are 61 million Chinese children left behind in rural areas?

Chinese workers from the countryside who chose to work in the big cities have caused 61 million children to be left behind in rural areas. They are entrusted under the care of relatives, family friends, and others who often do not have the financial means, physical ability or the knowledge needed to properly care for the children.

What is a left behind child in China?

Left-behind Children. Left-Behind children in China are generally referred to as children who remain in rural regions under the care of kin members while their parents migrate to urban areas, usually for economic reasons.

How does migration affect the education of left behind in China?

In December 2014, the Legislative Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China proposed a reform of the Household Registration System that dismantles it in small cities and towns and the relaxation of control in medium cities. Migration usually has adverse effect on the schooling and wellbeing of left-behind children.

What are the challenges faced by left-behind children?

The lack of infrastructure and parental support have led to additional challenges for left-behind children including quality education, physical well-being, and healthy social relationships.

What are the left behind children in China?

While their parents seek more money in the city, left-behind children are left in inadequate school buildings with limited supplies and ill-prepared teachers. In an interview with The Borgen Project, Lijiah Zhang, an author and journalist who examines China’s left-behind children, stressed that education is the largest problem these children face.

Why do Chinese parents leave their children behind?

In search of better job opportunities, millions of Chinese parents in poverty have left their communities in hopes of creating a better future for their children. However, these parents must leave their children behind to do so. These left-behind children (LBC) may remain with a caregiver, family member, friend or institution, ...

How old are LBC in China?

The average ages of LBC range from 6 to 17. While LBC are more prominent in rural China, the number of LBC has risen in urban areas as well. As a result, many children in China are mentally and physically ill, don’t receive a proper education and are essentially stuck in the cycle of poverty.

Why do left behind children drop out of school?

Left-behind children dropping out of school perpetuates cyclical poverty. China’s economic expansion over the past 40 years has brought about 800 million people out of poverty, but it has also widened the gap between rural and urban communities. Families in poverty continue to struggle with money, and the number of parents deciding ...

How long does it take for a child to walk to school?

Many children also experience extremely long walks to and from their schools, some of which take multiple hours. This leaves them alone and vulnerable to anyone passing by. Living without parental guidance also takes a mental and physical toll on children.

Why are left behind children more vulnerable to abuse?

Lack of Safety and Health. Because left-behind children do not have parents to protect or guide them, they are more vulnerable to abuse. Forms of abuse include harassment from peers and guardians, sexual abuse and criminality. For example, in 2015 a teacher was sentenced to life in prison for raping 12 of his students, ...

Is education a problem for LBC?

For those who do continue their education, the quality is waning. With teachers lacking incentives and resources, education is a large obstacle for LBC. Educators hired for rural teaching positions are often fresh out of training and possess little teaching experience to offer a proper education.

Where are the left behind children in China?

Children running in wheat-field, near Datong, Qinghai, China. The left-behind children in China ( simplified Chinese: 留守儿童; traditional Chinese: 留守兒童; pinyin: liúshǒu'értóng ), also called " stay-at-home children ", are children who remain in rural regions of China while their parents leave to work in urban areas.

How many left behind children in China are melancholy?

Approximately 50% of the left-behind children in China go through melancholy and apprehension, in comparison to 30% of their urban peers. Likewise, they are more likely to suffer from mood swings and trauma.

How long do left behind kids spend on games?

Left-behind children spent longer time on mobile games, 19% of these spend over six hours on games, two times more than those who are with their parents. The parents fail to recognize their child's extreme phone use as an issue. To them, phones serve as “babysitters” to calm the children down and stay away from trouble.

What are the factors that affect left behind children?

Gender is another factor that impact the left-behind children's experience. Girls receive more supervision and undertake more care work than boys who are left behind. It is common for caregivers of left-behind children to place more restrictions on girls' social activities than those of boys.

What is the difference between children left behind at the age of three and children left at the age of nine?

According to one research, children left behind at the age of three have emotional issues while children left at the age of nine have decreased in pro-social behaviors.

How old are left behind kids?

Approximately 96% of the left-behind children received or are currently receiving primary and secondary education from 6–14 years old. Approximately 80% of the left-behind children between the age of 15 and 17 are in school, whereas 70% of the rural children population between the age of 15 and 17 are in school.

What is the impact of opening up and reform policy on China?

Since the implementation of the Opening Up and Reform Policy, China has experienced exponential economic development. Despite the significant growth as an entire nation, the unbalanced regional growth has created a polarization between the urban and the rural, the east and the west, and the rich and the poor. The unequal development become one of the main driving force of rural-to-urban migration, such migration works hand-in-hand with urbanization progress. With China's increasing urbanization, more than half of the population lives in urban areas according to the census data collected in 2015. In addition, the conversion of agricultural land for commercial use made agricultural work became less viable and profitable. This prompted a growing number of people to migrate from their hometowns to search for better-paying jobs in urban areas. The income-related and labor-force-related drives to rural-to-urban migration and urbanization prompted the phenomenon of floating children and left-behind children in China.

Where are left behind children most affected?

The problem of left-behind children is most severe in Anhui, Henan and Sichuan provinces, the key sources of migrant workers, where 44 per cent of rural children live without their mother or father. This is far higher than the national average of 35.6 per cent, the survey found.

How did Yuzhong behave?

During the first couple of years, Yuzhong tried to behave himself, remembering his parents’ exhortation . After dutifully feeding the animals, Yuzhong would go out to play with his friends and return home late. Instead of doing his homework in the evening, he would often sneak out to watch television at the house of a neighbour who had recently bought a television set. There was no internet yet, and the rare television provided just about the only source of entertainment.

How did Yuzhong's father die?

Just as things were going well for Yuzhong, tragedy struck. His father died from a heart attack just before dawn on the Dragon Boat festival in June 2011 when he was 14. The teenager couldn’t accept it – his father had just come back into his life after such a long absence. The family fell on hard times.

What did Yuzhong do to the buffaloes?

At one point, Yuzhong also wanted to chase after the buffaloes with other young men but his father pulled him back, saying it was dangerous, and he wrapped an arm protectively around the boy’s shoulder, an affection the son had rarely experienced. He leant closer against his father, realising that for the past few days he had been especially clinging to his parents.

How often did Yuzhong skip school?

Without his grandma dragging him out of bed in the morning, Yuzhong often went to school late, and he started to skip school, usually twice a month, not frequently enough to make the school kick him out. His studies deteriorated steadily.

What did Yuzhong do in the wood?

Yuzhong helped to scoop out the flour from the indentation in the wood and fill it with new batch of rice. While working away, his parents talked briefly about their lives in the city. They had been doing primarily construction work, one of the most common jobs for unskilled and uneducated migrant workers.

What happened to the middle income trap in China?

The risk of the middle-income trap just increased for China. Here’s why. 20 Jul 2018. In June last year, four left-behind children from the same family, ranging from ages five to 13, committed suicide together by swallowing pesticide in Bijie, in impoverished Guizhou province.

When did Baiyan village stop sending teachers?

From 1997, the local government provided additional teachers, but none stayed long on the mountain. The government withdrew recognition in 2006 and stopped sending teachers in 2010.

Why do grandparents not want their kids to board school?

Many grandparents do not want their children to board because they fear bullying or inadequate after-school care.

Who is Han Jingjing?

Han Jingjing is the only child in the third-grade class at Baiyan Hope School. (Robyn Dixon/Los Angeles Times) Advertisement. Han, the teacher, moved out of her father’s damp and ramshackle house to live in a spare room at the school with her daughter Luo Yiran, 5.

Is Han Jingjing a left behind child?

Han Jingjing is one of the “left-behind” children: Her mother and father are absent working grueling jobs far away, like most parents from rural Baiyan village.

What happens when education authorities ignore their duty?

When education authorities ignore their duty, children are left without options, and law enforcement must clean up the mess. The question is how law enforcement is going to manage when the number of delinquents surges.

What are the things that minors are lured into?

Amid temptation, intimidation, and coercion, minors are often lured into truancy, theft, prostitution, or drugs. Other teenagers are most often the ones urging their peers to commit wrongdoing. Children brought along to the cities do not necessarily do any better.

Is China undergoing urbanization?

China is undergoing unprecedented urbanization. As vast as the urbanization is, no village in any corner of the country can avoid being swept up in this process. When adults leave their homes in rural areas and head to the cities to work, they either leave their children behind with relatives or bring them along.

Poor Quality of Education

See more on borgenproject.org

High Dropout Rates

Lack of Safety and Health

Helping Left-Behind Children

Overview

Overview of Statistics

Cause of Left-behind Children

Impacts

Government and private-sector initiatives

International comparisons

Further reading

External links