The draft Law on Strengthening Family Education states that parents will be reprimanded and have to pass family guidance programs if prosecutors find their children have behaved extremely badly or criminally.
“There are many reasons why teens misbehave, the first of which is the lack of or insufficient family education,” said Zhang Tiui, a spokesman for the Legislative Affairs Committee of China’s parliament.
The draft law, to be reviewed by Parliament’s standing committee this week, also urges parents to arrange time for their children to rest, play and exercise.
Beijing has taken a more assertive approach this year, from tackling youngsters’ addiction to electronic games, a form of “spiritual opium,” to cracking down on the “blind” attraction of internet celebrities.
In the past few months, the Ministry of Education has set limited playing hours for minors, allowing them to play electronic games for one hour on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.
It also eased homework and banned tutoring for core subjects during weekends and holidays, fearing the heavy academic burden on children.
Meanwhile, China is urging its youth to be less “feminine” and more “manly”.
In its “proposal to prevent the feminization of male adolescents” issued in December, the Education Ministry urged schools to promote sports such as soccer.
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