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Left-behind children in China

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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. In many cases, these children are taken care of by their extended families, usually by grandparents or family friends, who remain in the rural regions.[1][2][3]

According to the UNICEF 2018 Annual Report, there are approximately 69 million children left behind by one or both of their parents due to migration, which is equivalent to thirty percent of the children in rural area.[4] The number of left behind children is unevenly distributed across age groups, regions, and gender. The majority of the left-behind children population is located in south and central regions of China. Six south and central provinces, including Sichuan, Anhui, Henan, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi, take up 52% of the left-behind child population.[5]

Many factors contribute to the increase of left-behind children in China. Internal migration, which mainly involves massive economically-driven population shifts from the rural areas to the cities in China, produces a large population of left-behind children and migrant children. China's Hukou system (Chinese Household Registration System) hampers left-behind children's chances of public school enrollment in cities. In some cities where a school enrollment point system are implemented, educational resources in urban areas are not readily accessible to migrants and left-behind children. As a result of the lack of educational resources, many migrant parents left their children at home.[6][7]

The physical and mental wellbeing of the left-behind children has become one increasing concern for researchers and Chinese government. Some researchers found that the remittance from migrant parents has a positive impact on children's education and human capital.[8] Many of these children face developmental and emotional challenges as a result of the limited interaction with their biological parents.[9][10] 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.[3]

Overview of Statistics

There are approximately 69 million children in China that are left behind by one or both of their parents due to migration, which is equivalent to thirty percent of the children in rural area.[4]

According to the report published by All-China Women's Federation in 2011, among the total population identified as left-behind children, children age 0-5 take up 27.05%, age 6-11 take up 34.85%, and age 12-17 take up 38.11% of the children that are left behind. The male-to-female ratio in left-behind children population is 114.75, with boys composing 53.63% and girls composing 46.57% of the population.[5]

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. However, it is also argued that according to a different metric, approximately 1/3 of the left-behind children between 15-17 left home to work.[5]

The family structure of left-behind children in China varies. According to a report published by National Bureau of Statistics of China, the family structure can be divided into two main categories: (I) Children staying with a single parent due to migration take up 47.14% of the population, within which the father is three times more likely to migrate for work, hence leaving the mother and other family members with the left-behind child. (II) Children staying with neither of the parents take up 52.86% of the population, within which half of the population live with their grandparents. 11.58% of the total left-behind children live by themselves.[5][11]

Cause of Left-behind Children

Urbanization and Rural-to-Urban Migration

See more in Wikipedia article: Migration in 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.[6] With China's increasing urbanization, more than half of the population lives in urban areas according to the census data collected in 2015.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

Household Registration System (Hukou System)

See more in Wikipedia article: Hukou

The Household Registration System is an institution implemented in China which requires its citizens to register and record as residents of a particular area in the unit of family. The system is often considered as an institutionalized mean to create class distinction in China.[15] The system functions as a tool to control and monitor the population and the internal migration. It also serves as the basis for the distribution of public services and resources, which determines what social benefits (education, housing and medical services) a person may receive in a specific region. When residing outside of the place of origin, such benefits and services might not be awarded. Because of the barriers to access educational resources outside of their places of origins, people with high mobility have to either send their children to migrant worker schools or leave their children behind in the rural hometown, causing the increase of the left-behind children in China.[16][17][18] Although recent policies have relaxed school admission by banning sponsorship fees in many cities, many problems still remain.[19] In December 2014, the Legislative Affairs Office of the People' 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.[20]

Impacts

Mental and physical health

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. They typically have inferiority complexes, lower sense of worth and lesser self-confidence. Most of them lack a sense of security and are too afraid or anxious to interact with other people.[21][22]

Physical well-being is also significantly lower among left-behind children as they were more likely to have an unhealthy diet, lower levels of physical activity, and more likely to engage in unhealthy habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol. These particular habits have contributed to higher rates of stunted growth and unhealthy body weights.[23]

Education

Countless left-behind children become reluctant and unenthusiastic to go to school. Many become truants and some of them drop out of school. The children's lackluster attitude towards school restricts their social mobility and keeps them the cycle of poverty.[24] Generally, these children have lower educational goals and are less likely to complete compulsory education.[25] They likewise show consistent low scores on primary school exams which potentially deter chances of a better future.[26]

These children also have difficulties with student-teacher relationships. Additionally, when parents migrate, these children's participation in housework and farming increases, leading to lesser time spent for academic pursuits.[27]

A 2012 study using longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey concluded that "parental migration has not given children left behind a significant advantage in educational prospects as their parents had hoped."[28] Adverse educational impacts are especially evident for boys.[29]

Reforms

To encourage educational parity and provide equal opportunities at the same time assure migrant children's right to acquire essential education, a unified national student registration system has been set up in primary and secondary schools, and procedure for school transfers can now be conducted online.[30]

In 2011, a rural school lunch program serving 20 million students daily was implemented.[31]

Data-driven analysis to determine the most effective interventions in rural education and child welfare is being developed by Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Science's Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, in Beijing have partnered with Stanford's Rural Education Action Program (REAP). Studies indicated that although rural children had good motor skills, benefited from school lunch programs, and responded to caregiver coaching with their parents, caregiver coaching with their grandparents had little effect. A randomized trial of early childhood development centers in villages in Shaanxi Province is expected to start yielding data in 2018.[31]

The Chinese government's "National Mental Health Work Plan (2015–2020) aims to establish psychological counseling rooms in all schools and to increase awareness of psychological well-being."[32]

Social relationships

The separation between parents and left-behind children poses a challenge to their social relationships. Left-behind children are more introverted than those who grow up with their parents and are more susceptible to being bullied at school.[33]

Safety

Left-behind children suffer more major injuries than those who stay with their parents.[34] In 2012, 5 left-behind children died from carbon dioxide inhalation after lighting a fire in rubbish bin for warmth.[35][36] In 2014, 12 girls were threatened and raped by their school teachers.[37] and in 2015, 4 left-behind children living under domestic violence attempted suicide by drinking pesticide.[38][39] After the 2015 tragedy, local government officials in Bijie, which has 260,000 left-behind children, issued a request to parents to return home.[40]

The crime rate of left behind children is 70% higher than that of other juveniles.[41]

Cell phone addiction

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.[42]

Government and private-sector initiatives

“Guidance on how to make best use of social work professionals in the protection of rural left-behind children” has been jointly issued by the Ministries of Civil Affairs, Education and Finance, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the All-China Women's Federation, for the use of social work professionals who work with rural left-behind children.[43] The tasks defined in the document include:

  1. assisting in the rescue and protection work
  2. carrying out family education guidance
  3. actively providing social care services

The policy aims to

  1. strengthen the training and development of professionals
  2. actively cultivate and develop social work service institutions
  3. promote the construction of social work service stations in villages and towns, and
  4. increase the employment of social work professionals in relevant units.

Another initiative from the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has been placement of unsupervised left-behind children in the custody of guardians. Since the campaign commenced in November 2016, 16,000 left-behind children who had dropped out of school have resumed their education, and 177,800 who were previously unregistered have been registered on national household records.

A national information management system for left-behind children has been launched. The system enables professionals to share data about the child subsistence allowance, impoverished households and people with disabilities. The system now has data on 1.3 million children with disabilities and 110,000 children of impoverished families.[44]

In Southwest China's Guizhou Province, left-behind rural children use smart wristbands with GPS for tracking and protection.[45] The local governments of Bijie city and Qianxinan Buyi, the Miao autonomous prefecture in Guizhou, spent approximately 24 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars) to provide smart wristbands for more than 100,000 left-behind children in primary schools. The wristband has a GPS locator and is linked to local police databases which allows children to report emergencies.

Jack Ma has called for other entrepreneurs to make increased investments and financial contributions to rural boarding schools in their home provinces.[46]

A school in Zizhou County, Mata School, began offering weekend accommodations for its students to ensure the children have somewhere to stay.[47]

A Red Army School in Hunan which serves 70% stay-at-home students, named its school after Marshal He Long, and encourages its students by commemorating the history of the Long March.[48]

Children's' Clubs offering "play and educational activities under the care and supervision of local volunteers" have shown positive outcomes.[49] A drop-in children's' center in Xichehe serves 200 children.[50] A 100-square-meter children's center was built with sponsorship from the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and the Sichuan Provincial Communist Youth League. Women between ages 19–55 are trained to serve as the center's companion mothers. Filled with picture books, sports equipment, and tables, the center is often crowded with children on weekends.[51]

International comparisons

  • AIDS orphans, children raised primarily by grandparents, mostly in Africa
  • Euro-orphan, children left behind when parents move from one E.U. member state to another for work
  • Kinship care, children in the US and Great Britain who are raised by grandparents or other relatives
  • Latchkey kid, a child who returns from school to an empty home, or a child who is often left at home alone

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Lijia Zhang, One in 60 million: Life as a 'left-behind' child in China, 21 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018 from
  2. ^ John Sudworth, Counting the cost of China’s left-behind children," BBC News, 12 April 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018
  3. ^ a b Zhao, Ke-Fu; Su, Hong; He, Li; Wu, Jia-Ling; Chen, Ming-Chun; Ye, Dong-Qing (September 2009). "Self-concept and mental health status of 'stay-at-home' children in rural China". Acta Paediatrica. 98 (9): 1483–1486. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2009.01346.x.
  4. ^ a b "UNICEF China 2018 Annual Report" (PDF). UNICEF. 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b c d Nong cun liu shou liu dong er tong zhuang kuang diao cha bao gao = Research report on left behind and migrant children. Zhonghua quan guo fu nü lian he hui. Er tong gong zuo bu., 中华全国妇女联合会. 儿童工作部. (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: She hui ke xue wen xian chu ban she. 2011. ISBN 978-7-5097-2217-6. OCLC 714567161.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ a b Mu, Guanglun Michael,. Living with vulnerabilities and opportunities in a migration context : floating children and left-behind children in China. Hu, Yang,. Rotterdam. ISBN 978-94-6300-785-6. OCLC 966556787.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ China Development Brief, “Report discusses challenges in educating migrant and left-behind children”, 30 Mar 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2018
  8. ^ Quisumbing, Agnes; McNiven, Scott (January 2010). "Moving Forward, Looking Back: the Impact of Migration and Remittances on Assets, Consumption, and Credit Constraints in the Rural Philippines". Journal of Development Studies. 46 (1): 91–113. doi:10.1080/00220380903197960. ISSN 0022-0388.
  9. ^ Xu Wei and Wang Xiaodong, A child's life of fear, insecurity and misery," China Daily, 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2018
  10. ^ Luo, J.; Wang, W.; Gao, W. (2009). "Review of the studies on rural left-behind children in China". Advances in Psychological Science. 17: 990–995.
  11. ^ National Women's Association (2013). The national report of the current status of left-behind children and floating children. Beijing: National Bureau of Statistic Press.
  12. ^ National Bureau of Statistics (2015). China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
  13. ^ "Little match children". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  14. ^ Ye, Jingzhong, Pan, Lu. 2011. “Differentiated childhoods: impacts of rural labor migration on left-behind children in China.” The Journal of Peasant Studies Volume 38, Issue 2.
  15. ^ Chinese society : change, conflict and resistance. Perry, Elizabeth J., Selden, Mark. (3rd ed ed.). London: Routledge. 2010. ISBN 978-0-203-85631-4. OCLC 648986767. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. ^ Wang, Sophie Xuefei, and Fu Yu Benjamin. 2019. "Labor Mobility Barriers and Rural-Urban Migration in Transitional China." China Economic Review 211-224.
  17. ^ Lisa Yiu & Luo Yun (2017) China’s Rural Education: Chinese Migrant Children and Left-Behind Children, Chinese Education & Society, 50:4, 307-314.
  18. ^ "Over 60% Believe Left-behind children Problem Is Caused By Hukou System". China Development Brief. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  19. ^ BBC News, "China to protect migrant workers' 'left-behind' children," 15 February 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018 from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35581716
  20. ^ Zhang, Zoey Ye (April 7, 2019). "China is Relaxing Hukou Restrictions in Small and Medium-Sized Cities". China Briefing.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Tania Branigan, China struggles with mental health problems of 'left-behind' children, The Guardian, 30 August 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2018
  22. ^ Lijia Zhang, Left-behind children a poignant reminder of the cost of China’s development," South China Morning Post, 26 May 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018
  23. ^ David McKenzie and Serena Dong, China to migrant workers: Take your kids with you, CNN, 16 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2018
  24. ^ "Improving education for left-behind children". Oxfam Hong Kong. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  25. ^ UNICEF (2014) Children in China: an atlas of social indicators. United Nations Children’s Fund
  26. ^ Hong Kong Baptist University, The impact of parental absence in rural China, March 2, 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018
  27. ^ The Collective, Educating China’s Left-Behind Children, 9 June 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2018
  28. ^ Lu, Yao (2012-04-01). "Education of Children Left Behind in Rural China". Journal of Marriage and the Family. 74 (2): 328–341. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00951.x. ISSN 0022-2445. PMC 3806142. PMID 24163479.
  29. ^ Meng, Xin; Yamauchi, Chikako (October 2017). "Children of Migrants: The Cumulative Impact of Parental Migration on Children's Education and Health Outcomes in China". Demography. 54 (5): 1677–1714. doi:10.1007/s13524-017-0613-z. ISSN 1533-7790. PMID 28936632.
  30. ^ China Development Brief, China’s Minister of Education announces reforms to ensure migrant children’s access to education, 30 Aug 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018
  31. ^ a b Normile, Dennis; 2017 (2017-09-21). "One in three Chinese children faces an education apocalypse. An ambitious experiment hopes to save them". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2019-12-16. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ Jan, Catherine; Zhou, Xiaolin; Stafford, Randall S (2017-10-31). "Improving the health and well-being of children of migrant workers". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 95 (12): 850–852. doi:10.2471/blt.17.196329. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 5710085. PMID 29200527.
  33. ^ Cesar Chelala, The sad plight of China’s left-behind children, 03 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2018
  34. ^ Unintentional injuries have turned into the biggest threat to the health of Chinese children. National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council. 2008. Accessed 21 November 2018.
  35. ^ Tom Phillips, Four 'left-behind' children in China die of poisoning after being abandoned, The Guardian, 11 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  36. ^ Hilary Whitman, Deaths in dumpster expose plight of China's street kids,” CNN, 22 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  37. ^ Uwen Wu, The abuse of China's 'left-behind' children, BBC News, 12 August 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  38. ^ Miller, Michael E. (June 15, 2015). "The heartbreaking reason four Chinese siblings drank poison and died". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ China ‘left behind’ children commit suicide, Capital News, 12 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2018
  40. ^ Pinghui, Zhuang (2017-09-04). "Revisiting China's 'suicide village' of left-behind children". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  41. ^ "The Children of Migrant Workers in China". China Labour Bulletin. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  42. ^ Cao Xinyu, Cyber addiction among rural left-behind kids, Shanghai Daily, 15 Nov 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018
  43. ^ "Government issues guidance on social workers involved in the protection of rural left-behind children - China Development Brief". China Development Brief. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  44. ^ "China secures guardianship for 760,000 left-behind children". Xinhua - English.news.cn. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. ^ "Smart wristbands protect China's left-behind children". Xinhua - English.news.cn. 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2018-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. ^ Gilchrist, Karen (2018-01-23). "Alibaba's Jack Ma thinks he knows how to save China's 'left-behind children' — he's asking other entrepreneurs to buy in". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  47. ^ Zuo, Mandy (2018-03-17). "The Chinese teacher who is 'mother' to more than 300 left-behind children". The Star Online. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  48. ^ Jing, Liu (2016-09-02). "Long March spirit remembered in Red Army school". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  49. ^ Zhao, Chenyue; Zhou, Xudong; Wang, Feng; Jiang, Minmin; Hesketh, Therese (2017-11-01). "Care for left-behind children in rural China: A realist evaluation of a community-based intervention". Children and Youth Services Review. 82: 239–245. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.09.034. ISSN 0190-7409.
  50. ^ Carney, Matthew (2016-09-06). "'I'd be a burden': Meet some of China's 61 million abandoned kids". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  51. ^ Liu Wei, 'Companion mothers' help care for rural left-behind children,” 7 February 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018
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