BEIJING, Dec 17 — In the latest instalment of Parenting: The Extreme Sports Edition, a father in China almost gave up the ghost — literally — while helping his teenage son battle the academic monster known as homework.
The man, surnamed Zhang, was diagnosed with a heart attack, proving that quadratic equations can, in fact, be hazardous to your health.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the ordeal unfolded in Zhejiang province, where Zhang, in his 40s, began gasping for air and clutching his chest during an evening of tutoring his son for the looming gaokao exams.
The boy, a junior secondary school graduate preparing for the gruelling senior entrance exams, was likely just as traumatised — but for very different reasons.
"Sudden breathing difficulties and chest pain" struck Zhang mid-session, and he was quickly rushed to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital.
There, doctors diagnosed an acute myocardial infarction and performed emergency artery bypass surgery.
But was it really just biology? Or was this the inevitable fallout from endless equations, tears, and poorly labelled diagrams?
Zhang’s doctors pointed to premature coronary artery disease, exacerbated by the emotional rollercoaster of homework supervision.
Zhang was no ordinary tutor; he wore the dual hats of father and after-hours taskmaster, organising nightly practice sessions and cramming schedules for his son, who felt the weight of it all, describing their relationship as “strained.”
He also enrolled his son in multiple cram schools and handled drop-offs and pickups himself.
Sadly, Zhang’s tale isn’t unique.
SCMP reported that Chinese parents are increasingly ending up in hospitals while tackling the Herculean task of helping their kids succeed.
Earlier this year, another father in Zhejiang developed an eye condition called central serous chorioretinopathy after getting “too excited” while pressuring his Primary Three son to finish his homework.
And let’s not forget the 33-year-old mother in Jiangsu who suffered a stroke in 2018 after her daughter took too long to complete her bedtime homework.
It’s no secret that homework in China has evolved into an unofficial parental competition.
Many teachers delegate the task of supervision to parents, making academic performance a de facto yardstick of parental success.
After all, the gaokao remains the holy grail for millions of students, offering a one-shot ticket to China’s top universities and, supposedly, a brighter future.
Of course, Chinese netizens weren’t short on commentary.
“The competitive educational environment is exhausting for both the children and their parents,” one Douyin user lamented.
Exhausting might be putting it mildly.
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