Chicken and Helicopters

The education system in the Peoples Republic of China has always been nothing less than hyper-competitive. Such a competition-oriented academic environment, coupled with growing social inequality and an expanding middle-class, results in Chinese parents developing a fear that their child might fall behind in life. From such fears stem the traditional Chinese parenting style which is relatively authoritarian in nature.

The recent emergence of chicken parents, also known as Jiwa parents, is yet another by-product of such fears and societal pressures. Many middle-class Chinese people hold the view that the Chinese education system is rigged in favour of the elite. According to statistics obtained from the Beijing Education Examinations Authority, 50% of students admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University are residents of Haidian. Furthermore, a number of parents also try to bribe elite schools and universities in order to secure admission for their children. In such situations, middle-class parents feel as if they do not have another option but to over-exert their resources and energies for their children to secure a brighter future.

Particularly in cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, there are many obsessive middle-class parents, who are now following an intensive parenting method known as ‘Chicken Blood’. Such a parenting style is characterized by injecting children with chicken blood and having them follow a rigorous schedule comprising educational and extracurricular activities that are seen as appealing to elite schools and universities. Parents are investing large amounts of money in signing up toddlers for various classes even at the elementary level. An article outlining the parenting regime of chicken parents shared the story of li, a chicken mom hailing from central Beijing, who begins her day at 6 a.m. by dropping her daughter off at school; then, by 3 pm she takes her to dance class which is further followed by a math class and swimming lessons. Another chicken mom said that she was pulled into being a chicken parent when she saw everyone else practicing such strict regimes and feared that her child may have difficulty keeping up with the chicken children in the future. Such parents are also part of various social media groups where they share tips and tricks for raising competent children.

The problem with chicken parenting lies first and foremost in the fact that children are being injected with chicken blood. Chicken blood therapy, although quite old, has pseudoscientific origins. It emerged in 1952 when Yu Changsha, who was conducting research on tissue therapy, decided to experiment on himself with chicken blood injections. This led to the wide proclamation of chicken blood therapy as a cure-all for conditions ranging from leukemia to baldness. However, following research, it was banned by health authorities for being dangerous and having poor long-term effects. Later, the ban was lifted as a result of the Cultural Revolution. However, chicken blood therapy even now remains a pseudo-scientific phenomenon and its side effects remain widely unknown.