Don't comment on the pushing and shoving habit - that came from the communist government!!!  Back when food was being rationed in China, you had to push and shove to get it - or else you'd go home and eat your ration tickets.  It happened only a measly 35-40 years ago so there are 3 generations of people who had to do this and don't think there are anything wrong.  Spoiled kids are more of a cultural deal - you still have 35 years old in that country who give their pay checks to ther parents....... just like Itallian men that live with thier moms..... intoxicatingly funny and sad....

This reader raises a very interesting point....

====
RE: With whom shall The Little Emperors marry?

There doesn't seem to be a plethora of Chinese females
for them to choose from, and surely, no Western woman
will put up with them.

====

If I remember, there is already a large contingent of
young Chinese men between ages of 18 to 30 who number
almost 110 million who currently have NO HOPE AT ALL
of EVER finding a girlfriend/wife simply because of
the demographic trends in rural areas.

And there is currently a rising wave of criminal
trafficking in young girls from surrounding Southeast
Asian countries who are "Sold" by their dirt poor
parents to be "wedded off" to the slightly wealthier
Eastern Chinese which is an alarm bell that should be
ringing very loudly in the Chinese leadership's ears.

Add the enourmous social strains caused by the
rural/urban divide where there is a HUGE gap between
Coastal Chinese City Dwellers who have almost
comparable living standards to anyone living in
San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver versus the
backwaters of rural eastern China where
people are very poor compared our standards, but
still wealthy enough to purchase their brides from
the even poorer neighbouring countries.  

This rising market of sexual slavery of non-Chinese
women is but one grave symptom of what will happen
if the divide between the number of men to women
grows too disparate. 110 Million YOUNG Sexually and
Emotionally Frustrated men has only one end...
WAR AND REVOLUTION!

I can tell you what will happen and it won't
be pretty and although the Chinese leadership
DO in fact realize this growing demographic timebomb,
I find it unlikely that they will be able to deal with
a growing army of 110 million men who won't
take NO for an answer!

Couple "Little Emperor Syndrome" and not enough
women, and you get political dynamite that WILL HAVE
far reaching repercussions not only in China but
on the United States, Canada, Europe and other
Western Countries who depend so much on
China's current political stability for trade
and investment!

Like they say...We Live in Interesting Times!

As Amercan, upper middle class parents of an only child by choice, we have always provided our daughter with the boundaries, limits, and discipline she needs. We make sure she always gets the things that she needs, but not necessarily the things that she wants. She gets some things that she wants, but certainly not all, and from an early age we began teacher her about charity and helping those less fortunate than her. She is an only child, but she is not coddled, nor is she overcompensated (because we never wanted a second child, thus we have no guilt about her lack of a sibling). She is just as well-adjusted, generous, kind, social, and eager to share as the kid across the street from us who has three siblings. The issue here is the parenting and parenting style, or lack thereof.  

Perhaps the me-ism of the male children observed has less to do with China's one-child syndrome and more to do with the attitude of supremacy of the male in Asian society. First-born sons traditionally inherit everything and are given the most of the family's resources for education, etc. They feel entitled as a result (my husband is Asian) But,traditionally the eldest male also inherits the responsibility of caring for the elderly relatives, so the funneling of largesse, etc., sort of evens out in the long run. My husband is from Japan, where the "little samurai" (i.e., feudal lord) syndrome is not limited to families with only one child. Despite advances for women, males still receive the lion's share. While living there I often saw little boys on the subway hit and slap their mothers and no one was shocked.

Such a wide variety of perspectives from a fairly straight forward article!  Humans responding...wiola' communication.  Different perspectives...viola' experience.  Strong opinions...viola' passion!  I encourage all of you to use your comminication, experience and passion to make the changes you think are necessary.  Being an example to others, old or young, is one of the most important things that you will do in your lifetime.

While many parents of today try to give their children what they never had, this, in most cases, never helps the child out in any way or form.
Many have complained about this but yet each year as children pass through the school system I see more and more children rude and unrespectful of others, much less their elders. The U.S., much less the world, would be a better place if everyone taught their children manners and disciplined them the way our grandparents used to discipline our parents.

American children are spoiled rotten but for no reason at all and I believe also inadvertently so. It is a very bad mix of extreme ignorance and a grand sense of entitlement. It's worse than the so-called 't.v. babies', they are the new 'idiocracy' that are going to inherit a lot of misery and debt in this country, maybe we should all move sometime soon America doesn't have a very bright future. I mean who wants to live in and off the corpse of an ex-superpower?

How did the Chinese react to your daughter winning the ball?   China is an overagreesive society that has a history of infiltrated countries and expolited them, shunning their distribution for their own like the Borg.  They do not integrate with other cultures as evidenced by their choice to remain isolated in "China Town" habitats.

I think that some of the previous posters here have missed some very important points in this story. You have a nation, China, that continues to grow, both in population and influence. Despite state sponsored rules against growth, it continues. Despite state sponsored controls on many aspects of life in China, the Chinese have a growing sphere of influence. A lot of the posting has been compliants about Americans' between the age of 15 and 40 now. But, I am sure those same compliants were shared by the "Greatest Generation" about the "Boomers" who had regular TV and Birth Control instead of portable DVDs and Condoms. The bigger issue is what is the control over these young minds in China? What are they aspiring toward? I am not yelling "Yellow Peril". Rather, there is something to be said for watching and knowing what the impact of one of the more populist countries in the world will have. And most business people are very interested in the impact that China will have economically. And looking at movies, the Chinese are already effecting our culture. Will that continue? Will someone in the U.S. legislature mandate control on the number of birth's someday? It is not too far fetched. So many people have talked about our "standing" in the world. And that begs the question of how will other cultures influence America in the future?

You know,
personally- I would be afraid to when out in public, teach my child anything, in China- least it be deemed to suddenly offend the self-esteem of some narcissistic leader of the country! Then they too, may be subject to brutal, horrific, torture, and violations of human rights; such as the thousands who used Falun Gong.
A practice not unlike, some of China's culture that historically, had embraced the concept of the "Oneness of Heaven and Man." The way to achieve the Oneness, or one's true self - in a peaceful, calm, mannerly, Spiritual be kind to others,kind of  meditating. Similar to the health benefits of Tai Chi or; martial arts exercises, and perhaps used to relax, practice self-control, or to heal etc.
Until just recently  when the Chinese Communist Party's around, I believe  1999 felt intimidated by the power of thousands of spiritually, calm, moral people. They claimed that any leniency would amount to the defeat of their power control-Marxism. So that started  unimaginable  torture of thousands who followed its practice! Still it goes on today!!!!
In my view, that's some "Little Emperor" living in a Country where- when intimidated by calm morals, it can brutally, knock you down on a whim. Go ahead-check that one out for yourself!

I was in China in 2000, 2005 and 2006 for six weeks each time and what I saw was an economy that grew at an astronomical pace with each visit (more of everything each time with matching costs).  Along with more, came the entitlement.  In the 2005 visit, my 19 yr. old son, my mother, and I commented on the bratty kids, along with the rude adults.  But our visit brought a better understanding of the new immigrants to this country.  In the overly crowded big city's in China, people almost HAVE to be rude to do something as simple as going to a public toilet.  I can't begin to count to number of times I've had incidents with people.  Same with crossing the streets, purchasing items...even the sales people are up right behind you every step of the way.  Yes, we thought all this rude, but it built our tolerance for new migrants here.  I've noticed that the Chinese that have assimilated into our country become a little less rude.  This all said, it's not only the kids...it's a society that is rising too fast with people who had very little suddenly getting too much and acting out as humans do.  p.s.  We are Americans of Chinese descent (yes, we actually look Chinese).

Blah blah blah blah blablahblah..., here's the thing; China is all the way over ----------->there. I care little about their "little emperor (or empress)syndrome". The best that I can hope for is some decent service from some snot nosed American teenager when I am trying to order food for my family at a restaurant on any given night of the week. American children, mine included, are spoiled and we should tread carefully lest we cut our feet wide open walking on all that broken glass lying around. I am 43 years old and I was entirely too spoiled for my generation but I respected my elders, tried not to talk out of turn, and always addressed anyone older than me as "Sir" or "Ma'am", I still do. I am trying hard to teach my own personal brat that good manners,carrying oneself with dignity and exhibiting even the most minute trace of couth are admirable traits to possess in this depreciating society in which we reside. It is hard though, with all the kids running around with their pants falling off because it looks ever so cool to other people that you obviously don't know what size pants you wear, and weird haircuts and piercings of all types. Now I understand that this is a free country and anyone can do what they like, but I long for the 50's,(minus the racism, of course!), when kids looked normal, and you could understand the music. Oh, maybe someone could have talked to Brittany Spears Mom about birth control back then too...

Leave China to figure out it's young ones. Lets figure out our screwed up kids. 'Nuff said?

While this problem is increasingly common in the United States, it is also regionally different.  Two years ago we moved from Los Angeles, CA, to a suburban/rural area of South Carolina, and I can tell you that the children and teens in the South are in general far more moral, better behaved, and respectful of their elders than those in Los Angeles.  And it has nothing to do with income or class.

We adopted a daughter from China less than a year ago.  As she grows and learns moral values, good manners, and what it means to be a respectful, contributing citizen, I praise God that she will learn it in the South, and not in L.A.

An article about morals that focuses on children, inside the country which has no morals...ironic. Why do americans have to go to china and help support all the bad things they do (and the good things they dont do). Shame on you for even being in China in the first place.

I, myself, have wonderful, polite, and sucessful children who are not spoiled, greedy, nor humorless. However, someone needs to talk to you about yours.....

China may now contain rude little emperors and empresses, but at least they are willing and taught how to work hard for what they need and want. They are being taught a sense of entitlement, that right or wrong, closely equates to America's fromer sense of preordained destiny. A belief that led to the conquoring and development of this nation. I have observed many individuals who feel they are too good to soil their hands with labor. That some job they have been offered is too far beneath them, and yet they have no other options. The attitude in America seems to be that the world "owes" them something. and that something better will "come along", not that it needs to be worked for. If America fails itself and her people in the future, I think it will be because, this was once a land of opportunity,(which requires work) but now it is a land of whiners. And as far as China is concerned... they have billions of people willing to do the work of creating industry and nation... like we Americans once did. Our countries are currently developing along very similar lines and we had better watch out that we don't underestimate the same strenghts that led to  America developing into the world power that she is.

I have only one child and it was done by choice not chance, the reasons being that we want our child to receive all morals that she can. China has a plan to adjust to the changes as they come, I believe is a good way to go. Morals are indeed what helps not decay the neighborhood!

I applaud the Chinese for making this a part of their schooling. I have only been teaching 4th graders for a few years but the one thing I have noticed is not only am I expected to teach Math and Science to them but I have to teach them morals as well. This is difficult to do with no reinforcement from home and the growing sense of entitlement children have. I have young children myself and I am amazed to see how entitled they think they are to everything. It makes me wonder where I have gone wrong. I am just beating a dead horse, I know, but it is very difficult as a parent and teacher to continue to fight against what our society has become and what it is doing to our children. Don't get me wrong, I love our freedoms but I honestly believe we can have to much freedom.

I am 62 year old and grew up in Hong Kong for 19 years and were taught Christianity thru out the years and Confusionism.  I think they are good and valuable for this world we are in.  They may solve many of our problems now a day without having to enact some many laws that you literally breaking them all the time.
The author saw only a small portion of China and could not be representative of what China will be.  China gross national product is very huge and must be beckoned with, but the population is even larger and so the per capita in come is still condered a poor county.  So they will have a lot of time before they can catch up with us.  Please feel good.

I don't know of one problem in this article, or in any article in any paper on the globe, which would not be remedied by coming to Jesus Christ to ask Him to forgive our sins, and then we do it His way. I'm not talking about "religion, but a true RELATIONSHIP, in love with Him.   If the whole world only came to Him, it would be Paradise.  By the way, in His presence is fullness of joy, so it would be fun, too!   He's a happy God.

I agree with Danny from Va. When you allow your child
ren to think that it's ALL about them, you get another
generation of antisocials. We should maybe consider
China's ideas on this matter. After all, I think our
children could benifit from some lessons in humility,
manners and consideration.

When I was a kid we all had chores to do. & I came from a poor family, but did not think of it as poor we had plenty to eat I always wanted a Bike but with 8 Bro. & 2 Sisters I never got one.If we did not mind we weould get a good hard spanking.

Seems to me that the best way to teach these children manners and respect is to keep them as far away from religion as possible.

AMERICA HAS LOST ITS VALUES TO THE SECULAR PROGRISSIVES WHO THINK ARE KIDS CAN TAKE DRUGS AND HAVE UNPROTECTED SEX AT 12 YRS OLD ITS TIME TO BRING BACK SOME OF OUR MORALS AND START GETTING THESE CORRUPT POLITICIANS OUT OF OFFICE

So China has spoiled children... why should they be any different from the rest of the world?  

People should really think about whether or not they want to have ANY children.  Never mind that the world is over populated, good parenting skills are scarce these days.

Doug Prescient wrote:
Why are we trying to create so many business ties to China, a country with a terrible human rights track record? I could care less about their bratty children, let's start concentrating on strengthening our economy and not theirs.
My message:
Please, look at your own country, I live in the US and I cant believe there are still such... people in this country believing that the US is better than every other country. American children are more bratty and spoiled than most kids in almost every country. Even Canadians use more strict discipline to teach their children. Americans teach their children to be rich and better than others, not to love and care for one another. Compassion and disipline are long lost words in the american dictionary. Chineese may have some strict laws we may not understand, but then again, how can a 300 year old nation understand one that's been there for millenia? Please, if you make any comments, try to be wise and analyse American's current situation on children that believe they are the center of attraction.
I don't want to go for long but I could write an article about this. My wife is a teacher, parents send their kids to school and every time one of them misbehaves the teacher reprehends them, and if she tries to contact their parents, 70% of the time, the teacher is wrong and she doesn't understand their kid because their kid never behaves bad "according to his/her parents, and the little brat gets away with his/her misdeeds since his/her parents protect him/her even if he does misbehaves. Why? Because parents spoil them.
Parents buy mature rated games to children even though the game advisor tells them there is crude scenes of gore and assasination in the game "example: manhunt" because their kid only like adult game, yeah thats ok, good parenting america...
With that said, please, think ahead before saying other countries are worse than us.

China MUST review and confront the lopsided population
of young males to females or its society will be harm-
ed permanently: If observers are concerned with the
selfish, greedy attitude of the 'Emperors' now, wait
until they start driving fast cars, drinking booze, and competing over the few empresses who haven't been
spirited away by adopting parent, many from the US...
If China doesn't want to share opportunities with the
young girls, they might send them to schools in the
Americas, Australia, and Europe where they will
'catch up' with the emperors...Think of the potential
of a beautiful young returnee to China who has a good
education, career, taste, style, and orthodontia! She
will have it made if she properly prepares for this
'debut'...

Interesting ... my daughter and I traveled to India 2 years ago and had to fly in and out of several international airports.  The rudeness, pushing, shoving, outrageous manners of almost every person of Asian or Indian heritage was shocking to me.  The only people that were kind and courteous were the very rare Americans, Canadians or English that we encountered.  Maybe it is not so much a "child Emperor" problem as it is cultural?  

PEOPLE.... IT IS NOT JUST OUR CHILDREN OF THE WORLD THAT HAVE BECOME THIS WAY. WHATEVER HAPPEN TO THE GOLDEN RULE?  I BELIEVE IT IS LOST FOREVER.

Bad manners are nothing new. In the last several years, selfishness has become rampant here in America too.  As for the Asians, the adults are so rude in  public. They are always cutting my wife off as she walks slowly 'cause she has bad knees and uses a cane. I work in an industry where tipping is expected but the Asians expect extra service but then DO NOT tip. Just like 'charity begins at home' so does learning manners. But how can children learn manners if the adults do not use them on a daily basis?

Wasn't it Confucius who coined the phrase "it is easy to fool a foreigner??
And this one is mine " never trust anything that comes from china"

Maybe we should adopt the one child policy. There would be a lot less money going out for welfare and food stamp programs. Too many single parent households. I'm an only child, not selfish or bratty, considerate of others.  Even households with several kids, are spoiled with the me me me attitude.

Maybe someone should teach the leaders of China and their military and businesses some Morals and responsibility.  I'm sorry that is not part of the communist party teachings.  I guess that is why they steal military, business, technology and any other types of secrets they can.  Then they send students and citizens here or to other countries to do it.  Then again we do the same thing as does just about every other government in the world.  By the way don't tell me that "religion" teaches morals or values either!  Religious fanatics like the ones running our country, invade countries, start wars, lie, pad their pockets and destroy the evidence.  We have our own Little emperor" to deal with.

Get a grip, people.  R-e-s-p-e-c-t.
Children ARE people and you SHOULD be your child's friend.  If you don't teach them respect, and SHOW them respect, you're not doing your job as a parent.  

The Red chickens are coming home to roost. Teaching kids ethics is yet another example of faux-communist retrenchment,  after all the soviet man was supposed to be inherently moral, at least in the sense that the communists understand morality, which is to say opportunistic & devoid of any fixed moral principle other than the good of the revolution.... the very fact that a supposedly communist state finds it necessary to teach pre-communist ethical theory speaks volumes about the utter failure of communism, no matter what the PRC chooses to call itself.

Oh, and _we_  are entitled to criticize anyone we choose to criticize, no matter what the guilt stricken, self hating  americans amongst us may declare. Despite moans to the contrary, the US is neither as class ridden, greedy nor as vain as some other societies we could mention, China, Russia, Gulf states being some  of the front runners here.

In a world where China will become a world player having influence as never seen before I applaud all children rearing opportunities’ teaching morals and fair play. I only wish we could teach the same value oriented ideas to our music obsessed MTV minded children in the United States.

We definitely need to look at our own country and it's bratty children.  OOOH if I see one more three year old hit their parent I'm gonna scream.  I actually saw a parent carrying a nine year old around like he was a 2 year old.  Crazy..
Parents allow their kids to act out, I believe, to control the situation around them. Just sit back and watch sometime.  I have one child and I promise you he respects his elders and others.  He is and was made to obey and yet he knows he is so incredibly loved.
By the By has anyone seen the show "Super Nanny"
tsk tsk..

Mr. Espinoza... AMEN!!!!

Everyone here seems to blame the loss of morals on the x and y gens..but forget the generations befoire them who shaped their outlook on life..the so called greatest generation, the baby boomers and etc...the x and y gens did not create the world we live in now or it's problems..the generations before did and now find it simple to blame the x and y'ers...the difference here is the Chinese see where it is their fault and attempting to do something about it instead of following the true great american past-time of passing the buck and blame..i believe it's about time those generations who created the situation as it stands today take the credit for their work instead of blaming the generations their actions created.

There are also many children in China who believe in Jesus, and hopefully they will choose to continue to follow Him in humility as they grow up. WE need Sunday School teachers!  

Didn't everybody already know that the Chinese (young and old) are the rudest people on the planet ???

blame the parents, not the children, for bad manners.  pompous parents make for rude kids.

When my son was born, a friend gave us a "Family Circus" cartoon. One frame shows the kids surrounded by toys but lookibg bored. The next frame shows the parents and kids picnicing and flying a kite on a hill. The caption reads "You can give your kids time...or things. Time is better!"
That was our guiding principle in raising our kids. I think it's a good one wherever you are.

As a female orphan from China, I worry about the generation of Little Emperors. My former homeland is being extremely shortsighted in the way it devalues girls, but we're looking at thousands of years of tradition. Maybe they'll import brides from other countries, the opposite of the Chinese "picture brides" of 100 years ago. Talk about irony!

I've spent over 2 years in Tianjin (one of the largest cities in China, and very close to Beijing), and the "Little Emperor/Empress" syndrome is noticeable every time you are in a vehicle, on a bicycle, waiting in a queue, eating in a restaurant, going to the supermarket, or walking down the street.  In short, just about everywhere except within the home.  It's a total lack of awareness and concern for anyone else. A car or a bicycle will cut others off and cause a huge traffic jam just to gain an extra few seconds. A person on a bicycle will literally stop in the middle of a bike lane (if they stop at all) to talk on a cell phone, not even considering how much it inconveniences others.  The general attitude of drivers is "biggest vehicle has the right-of-way, get away with what you can." Drivers (and bicycle riders) rarely if ever look behind themselves or to the sides.  Rear-view and side-mirrors are almost never used.  People frequently spit on the ground outside, or on the floor in restaurants. Very few people will stand or wait in line or queue, it's basically first-shove, first serve....  There are many other examples.  And these aren't children, these are adults I am talking about, in normal, everyday situations.  This is not simply an attitude adopted by the affluent and well-to-do (although one could make the argument that anyone living in a big city is, almost by definition, of at least modest means-compared to someone living in the country). This is *everyone* who rides a bike or drives a car or waits in line or walks down the street or eats in a restaurant or buys food in the streets.  It is a pervasive cultural attitude, from the oldest to the youngest.  Plaigarism is common. Cheating on tests is common. I've heard many stories from other expats about being cheated in business.

As I mentioned, it's pervasive throughout the entire culture, from young to old.  That's one of the biggest differences I see when I come to China.  Sure, in just about any country, we see the "spoiled brats" who came from single-family homes and were coddled, or came from a wealthy family and got whatever they wanted.  But it's *different* here. Even the children who have siblings (there are more than you might think) and those who don't have a lot of money act similarly.  It seems to me that the amount of respect and manners you are given extend only as far as the personal relationship between the two of you.  Business partners, friends, guests, patrons, passengers, lovers, classmates, teacher/student, drinking buddy.  Each kind of relationship or interaction has a very different kind of respect or level of politeness. But without one of these kinds of interpersonal relationships, you are just another person to step in front of, to cut off, and (in my cultural eyes) to be rude to.

And that's just it.  It's a different *culture*.  Not many people get what that means.  Culture shock.  Normal actions by normal people within another culture being seen as rude, disgusting, abhorrent, strange.  How many times have we heard this or seen it?  Sure, maybe some of the international schools are starting to teach morals (good luck), but as one writer observed, that kind of teaching really belongs in the home. But will it happen?  I don't know.

I enjoyed Mr. Mullens' article, but I think he's simply touched on the tip of the iceberg.  I hope to hear more in the future.

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

=Socrates=

Religion ie 'Christianity' will not help the moral values in China. Look at the 'Christian' examples they have to learn from. The self proclaimed Christian in the White House is a mass murderer. Blowing up women and children and devastating  families while he and his conspirators take money from the underpaid worker to fill their own pockets. Religion is just another tool for grabbing power and money. You want well mannered children, leave out any and all religions and just teach the 'Golden Rule'.    

If we only just prayed more that would help us.  
There is another problem, however, and that can be seen in the Baylor University survey conducted not long ago that said only 90% of Americans identify themselves as Christians.  What is wrong with that other 10%?  
I don't know about the rest of you, but it is clear to me that those are the ones who are doing most (certainly not all, I'll readily admit) of the sinning, not teaching their children any moral values (when they're not simply copulating out of wedlock for their own selfish desires), and are undermining this country.  
And people wonder why China has so many problems.  Guess what percentage of China's population identifies itself as Christian?!  Not very much, unfortunately.  Someone above suggested sending some Christian missionaries there.  But where will they come from???  The USA certainly doesn't have any Christians to spare, we are engaged in intense spiritual warfare here on the homefront with that 10% that refuses to acknowledges its wickedness and come over to the light of Christ.  
Like I said before, people.  We need to pray more; the forces of Satan are on the march.    

These "little emperors" have no chance of becoming a real "little emperors" when they grow up unless they join the all mighty party. There are currently some 80 million of the real big "little emperors" in China. What a great liberated society to be in! Every citizens of the PRC have a good shot of becoming a real big "little emperor". There was only one such position just a little than 100 years ago.

I have taught throughout China for three years.It is getting worse.Many teachers refuse to teach children because they are so naughty.Yes the family is to blame.Many times I have seen a family walk down the street and a kid point to something a say "I want"The parents instanly buy it.As well let's begin with Chinese Employers.Many treat their workers as if they were their own personal slaves.I respect the Chinese government.They are working hard to make China a better place.But of course,that must begin at home.I wish many countries in the west would try as hard as the Chinese government

Of course no mention about the fact that Mao's attempt to irradicate 5,000 years of culture is the real reason behind the mass lack of moral and ethics in mainstream China today. While the little emperor syndrome is at least a generation old now and teaching Confucious is not going to solve anything other than serve as another propoganda model for the government to sell to NBC.  

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