News and Events

Many modern parents coddle their children, creating disruption in the classroom and problems for other children.

The "little emperor" syndrome

Phan Thuy Trang, Headmistress of Kim Dong Primary School in Go Vap District, HCMC, told of a case where a mother insisted that her child could not go to the bathroom on his own. Each time he needed to go the mother would show up and help him. When the school stopped allowing this, the mother showed up and made a scene, threatening teachers.

Other incidents commonly involve parents insisting that their children sit in front of the class and be served special lunches.

Trang said that co-operation between school and parents is important, but many parents take this to mean that their children receive preferential treatment.

A headmaster of a nursery school in District 5, HCMC, recounted an incident in which he tried to hold a parent-teacher conference, encouraging parents to let their kids become more independent, doing simple tasks for themselves, such as putting on clothes and cleaning up after playing themselves. Many parents responded by saying that they had maids and that their children did not have to lift a finger.

Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, an official from the Department of Education and Training in District 3, said many parents give teachers money and then tell their children that they had bribed their teachers, giving the students the idea that they could do whatever they wanted.

Spoiling turns violent

A teacher in a secondary school in Tan Binh District said that one parent even hit another kid in school to solve their child's argument. After the incident, the child was only emboldened, the teacher said.

Many teachers admitted that they fear teaching or even communicating with these students.