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The author, a sociologist, on the real reasons for the rise of China’s ultracompetitive “chicken-blood” parents. Parenting in China sometimes resembles an arms race: Middle-class families competing against each other to invest immense quantities of time, energy, and resources into their children’s education — all in the hopes of securing their future success. Private tutoring, international schools, and extracurricular trips abroad are all seen as valid ways to give kids a leg up in the fight for a university spot. The practice even has a name: jiwa , or “chicken blood parenting,” a reference to a mid-20th century Chinese practice of boosting a patient’s energy levels through infusions of chicken blood. At times, it can feel inescapable, even as it remains deeply unpopular with parents, kids, and even policymakers. Still, it’s worth taking a step back and asking: Does intense parental involvement in their kids’ studies truly benefit children? And what, if any, are
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