The Little Emperor

I have been mulling over reasons as to why some of my kids do not take discipline seriously at school. They smirk or even giggle while I explain to them what they did was wrong, they flauntingly tell me "No" when I ask them to do something, or they continue the bad behavior no matter how many times I have to walk them to the Principal's office after class. As a Sociology major, I am fascinated in finding out why these kids behave the way they do. It could be that they are only 5 years old and haven't been in school for very long; it could be the language barrier; it could be that they've been in school for just two weeks and need some time to warm up to me; or it could be that I am not doing an adequate job in classroom management. I was venting this frustration with some of my fellow teachers and my friend told me that she thinks it's due largely in part to what's known as the Little Emperor/Empress Syndrome. I'm not sure how many of you have heard of this term before, so let me explain.

"Little Emperor Syndrome is a name for condition affecting both parents and their one child for example in urban areas of China", like the capital city of Beijing and here in Shanghai. It is considered to be a indirect result of the one child policy (which is very interesting, by the way - take some time to look at this: ). Both parents lavish attention, time and energy on their one child, thus the child becomes ridiculously spoiled and gains a 'strong' sense of self worth. In researching this epidemic, as I call it, I found that "parents in China and in surrounding nations such as Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea where 'one child only' incentives are also being encouraged, have been known to wait outside the school for their children all day, carry their school bags around after them and cater for their every need right into teenage and early adult life." That's incredible...

These children have now become the center of their entire extended family. They are given privileges that might not have been given - this is their parents' only opportunity at getting it right, so they give their child everything they have. It's possible they don't want their child to be upset with them and potentially grow to resent them if they place rules on the child, so they give in to whatever their child hankers after. No longer is the parent the hub of the family; it is now the child.

"Experts suggest that too much care and pampering may result in the child ending up incapable of leading a confident future life. Many youngsters do not get exposed to life's realities and in many cases the parent's only goal is to get their child into a good slot at a respected university. The truth is that only a little more than 10% of high school students in China can hope to get into a college." [This site did not explain the statistic, though I wish it had.]

Another interesting fact: the generational pyramid is top heavy in China and the surrounding countries - 4 grandparents, 2 parents and one child. So, the family tends to over nourish the child, potentially causing the child to become overweight or even obese.

Can the verity of this theory be proven? Perhaps not, but one can certainly wonder. The Little Emperor Syndrome could play a part in why some of my students cannot accept the fact that they are being disciplined and told that horrible word of "no". It'll just take some time to break them of their naughtiness.

-E

quotes taken from www.answers.com

word of the day: panjandrum