The Wolf Dad’s Guide to Parenting: Vicious or Reasonable?

While most Chinese parents are trying desperately to get their children into Tsinghua or Peking University (aka Beida) by emulating Western educational virtues such as creativity and the “whole child” approach, one Hong Kong father is on a quest to prove them wrong. He’s doing so by enforcing corporal punishment to make his children succeed in life. And in fact, Xiao’s three children have been accepted by Peking University, a school that most Chinese parents can only dream of.

Xiao was brought up by his mom, who believed in corporal punishment. He was not allowed to arrive home late, to lie or do poorly in his exams. He received one beating for every minute he was home late or every point lost in an exam and, in the case of lying, being beaten until his mouth bled.

Accepted by Jinan University, which was considered quite a good school, Xiao later decided to apply similar methods to his own children. Xiao began regulating his children by setting up a system of rules for them to follow. Rules include filling out application forms to visit friends, high academic performance expectations, no opening the fridge door without authorization and no air-conditioning in summer. Each rule has a corresponding punishment attached to it so that the children quickly learned what to expect if they go against the rules.

In a recent TV interview, Xiao faced off against educational experts who criticized his methods, insisting that he is the “best dad in the world.” He also said in a previous interview that most Chinese parents nowadays have gotten “soft” and are worshiping foreign education systems. They have abandoned the good traditional Chinese way of educating children; he simply wants to prove that the Chinese way works. Well, he’s certainly succeeded in proving the point that times have changed.

For those who are curious, Xiao’s weapon of choice is a feather duster which he actually brought to the TV interview. (We wonder if one feather duster was enough to discipline four children over 20 years.) If you want to know more on how to spank your kids into Beida, a book titled Therefore, Peking University Siblings was released earlier this year – on Father’s Day, no less. It’s unclear why Xiao thought the book would appeal to children who want to buy gifts for their dads.

Who knows, a movie called Wolf Dad or Bea(s)t Dad could be hitting the theaters next Father’s Day. Maybe Xiao will embark on a speaking tour and start selling a specially branded line of feather dusters. Or maybe somebody will create an app to help regulate children based on Xiao’s methods. (Imagine the possibilities: a timer for completing assignments, a database of class rankings based on exam scores, GPS to track your kid when he’s not at home, etc.) Thank goodness we’re not kids anymore.

How do you feel about corporal punishment? Did it you do you any harm? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments section.