A father has faced criticism for disciplining his three-year-old daughter by assigning her a bowl to fill with tears as a punishment for watching too much television. The incident occurred in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, according to reports.
During dinner preparation, the father called his daughter, Jiajia, to the dining table, but she didn't respond as she was engrossed in watching TV. Frustrated, he turned off the television, prompting Jiajia to cry. He then handed her an empty bowl and said, "You can resume watching TV when you've filled this bowl with your tears," as reported by the South China Morning Post.
In a widely circulated video recorded by her mother and shared on Douyin, a Chinese short-form video platform, Jiajia was seen trying to collect tears in a bowl held under her eyes, attempting to comply with her father's directive. After struggling for over ten seconds, she expressed fatigue, stating it was "impossible for her to accomplish this task."
Her father then instructed her to smile, capturing an image of her laughing with tears on her face, which her mother found amusing.
Following the viral spread of the video depicting Jiajia crying into a bowl, there was widespread outrage on social media, with many condemning the father's actions towards the young child.
Earlier instances in China have seen parents disciplining children for neglecting homework in favor of television, including one where parents made a child watch TV all night as a punishment. They took turns monitoring the toddler to ensure he stayed awake, starting peacefully with snacks but ending with exhaustion and tears before finally being allowed to sleep at 5 am.
