China’s left-behind children: Parenting, caretaking, and struggles

Key Question Being Explored in This Insight:

How has the unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in China over the past three decades impacted the psychological well-being, family dynamics, and educational outcomes of "left-behind" children?

View the page of: Xiaojin Chen

Institution: Tulane University

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How has the unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in China over the past three decades impacted the psychological well-being, family dynamics, and educational outcomes of “left-behind” children?

Image courtesy of interviewee. February 13, 2025

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This video discusses the experiences of children left behind by migrant parents in rural China. The author highlights challenges such as lack of emotional connection with parents, the impact of parental divorce, and difficulties faced by children when visiting their parents. The author suggests reforms, such as ending the household registration system and improving access to education for migrant children. Additionally, the author proposes volunteer programs to support these children during visits to their parents. This video emphasizes the need for interventions to address the emotional and practical needs of these children.

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Based on the video, here are 5 key points:

1. Rural to urban migration in China: The video discusses how young people from rural areas started migrating to cities starting from the 1990s, leaving behind mostly grandparents and sometimes one parent for caretaking.

2. Impact of household registration system: The China's household registration system has been highlighted as a major structural barrier that limits rural migrants' access to social benefits like public schools, housing, and equal employment opportunities in urban areas, affecting children's educational opportunities.

3. Effects on left-behind children: The absence of parents due to migration, divorce, or lack of emotional connection can lead to negative impacts on children, such as feelings of being unwanted, confusion, and potential delinquent behaviors. Ambiguous loss, where children feel disconnected emotionally from their migrating parents, is a significant concept discussed in the video.

4. Educational challenges: The video emphasizes the need for reforms in the education system to ensure quality education for migrant children in urban areas, including addressing disparities in public school quality, access to exams in migrant origin areas, and providing support for children visiting their migrant parents.

5. Recommendations for support programs: Introducing volunteer programs led by undergrad students in urban areas to engage and assist left-behind children visiting their migrant parents, providing cultural experiences and opportunities to explore the city to prevent feelings of boredom or isolation during their visits.

These key points highlight the challenges and complexities faced by migrant families and left-behind children in China and underline the potential interventions and reforms needed to address these issues.

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Here are some key quotes from the video you :

1. "I want them to be able to have some kind of voice in China, people in rural area, they don't really have a forum to speak out."
2. "So the reason for that is... the China's household registration system."
3. "Grandparenting is the most prevalent form of care, but some parents are not available."
4. "Children living with one grandparent caretaker are the most vulnerable."
5. "Parental absence has both positive and negative effects on children's schooling."
6. "Ambiguous loss means children are confused about their parents' migration."
7. "I want to see the end of the household registration system for better access to social benefits."
8. "Children visiting their parents face challenges like lack of space and time."
9. "Programs could help children visit their parents with the help of volunteers."
10. "Many children want to go back home because parents don't have time."

These quotes highlight key themes such as the struggles faced by children in rural areas due to parental migration, the impact of the household registration system, the importance of family support structures, and the need for interventions to support left-behind children.

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I wrote the book, mostly

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because of my personal experience.

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So I grew up in rural area, in a small village.

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Uh, I visit China like almost every year,

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since I came to the United States.

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And when I was young, when I was like in the

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seventies and the eighties.

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Um, you know, all the, in, in, in the,

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in the small village, every family, you know, all the, the,

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the family members, they lived together.

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They work on small piece of island.

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And, everybody,

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was poor at long time, but we tried to survive.

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Uh, and then, starting from 1990s,

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the, at the, at first the young people start

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to migrate to cities, to either the big cities

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or the, the east coast area

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because, you know, those places are more,

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economic developed and there are more opportunities.

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So the, that's when the migration started.

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Um, Lao, if you go to,

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you know, village like the, the, the village I grew up,

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it's like, you know, I call it like a,

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it's like a empty shell that is,

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you don't see almost anybody aged from 14,

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15 years old to about 55, 56.

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And the only people left are the grandparents,

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the old people, and the young children.

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The young children. So, so every year I,

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you know, I, I go back, I visit China, I talk to my parents.

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I talk to people in the village,

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and I see the change,

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and it's very, you know, dramatic change in 20, 30 years.

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And I listen to them. I listen to them.

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They, they actually have a lot to talk about.

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They have a lot to talk about.

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They have a, the life is very difficult.

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Uh, they have suffered a lot over time,

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but then at the same time, they have some of those kind of,

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you know, I call them, I call the,

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the doomed, optim.

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Optimism, optimism, the doomed optimism.

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Uh, they, they are actually quite optimistic about the

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future, about the, you know, the, the, the, the children,

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the, the, the next gen, the, the, younger generations.

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So, so I talk to them after a few years,

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and I feel like, you know, maybe I,

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I should write a book about them.

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You know, I, I want, I want them to be able

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to have some kind of a voice in China, people in rural area,

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they, they don't really have a

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forum to speak out.

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You know, they, they are the most disadvantage,

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most disadvantage people in China,

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and they don't have access to, the same kind

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of social benefits as the urban counterparts.

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Um, but they don't really,

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have voice anywhere.

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So I really, so I want to write a book, basically,

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to be able to provide a forum, you know, so they can,

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voice their concerns, their, you know, their life,

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their experience, their hardship, and the suffering.

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So that's, kind of the reason,

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you know, I wrote, I wrote the book.

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We see a lot of people migrate to urban areas,

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but children do not

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normally do not go with their, their parents.

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Some do a small percentage, they go

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with their parents to the, host cities,

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but the majority, stay behind,

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with mostly grandparents, sometimes one parent,

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sometimes even, live independently by themselves.

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So the reason for that is, they,

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they are structural, barriers.

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There are also kind of more family,

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level factors, structurally, the, the,

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the biggest factor is, is, you know, is the China's,

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household registration system, we call the system.

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So hook system, was quite,

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strict before the 1980s, you know,

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before the 1980s, people in rural area actually allowed,

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allowed to work in the cities.

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Very few of them allowed to work in the cities.

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And the, and the, the rural people do not have the same

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access to social benefits, like, like public schools,

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like, housing

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or, the same kind of employment opportunities.

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So for, for children,

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a big barrier for them is, they don't really have access

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to public schools in urban area.

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Um, so that's, I would say that's one of the biggest reason

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that they were, they stayed behind with the grandparents.

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But there also other reasons.

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I, a big reason is about is income inequality.

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Income inequality is the rural people

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that the migrant parents make much less money

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than the people in urban area.

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So they don't, they're not able to afford

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to bring the children to the urban area, to live there,

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or, and also they're not able to afford

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to bring their grandparents to the urban, urban area.

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So the grandparents can, for example, you know,

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provide some kind of, you know, afterschool care,

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you know, those kind of services.

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And this is very common, even in urban area, in urban area.

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Grandparents also, many

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of the grandparents actually deal

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with the children, the grandchildren.

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But for migrant parents, they just don't have the money,

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to bring everybody there.

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Um, you know, I, I visit multiple

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migrant parents in urban area.

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They normally, most time they,

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stay in, like a factory dorm.

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So like, like four or five, even eight people in one dorm.

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So if they are married, if both

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of them walk in the same area, they rent a one,

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room, apartment, one room apartment.

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So they, they don't really have the money

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or the space for the children to go with them.

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And so that's kind of more at the income level

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and at the, the, the family level,

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the place I did the interview,

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and the field observation, the, the most

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prevalent care taking is grandparent care taking.

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So grandparenting is the most prevalent.

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Uh, so the, actually the ideal

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care taking arrangement in the place I interviewed,

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I did the interview is for both parents going out

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so they can make, you know, more money,

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and then the grandparents stay in the home,

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and they are supported by the migrant parents.

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And then children are supported by migrant parents.

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So the grandparenting is the most prevalent form,

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but some parents, they, either grandparents passed away

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or they allowed physical

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or mentally available, you know, mentally, physically,

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or mentally healthy enough to, to provide care.

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And then, you know, one parent has to stay home.

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So, you know, one parent parenting, is the mother

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or the father stay in the home is also, those are the,

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the less prevalent,

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but still, you know, those are the two different forms.

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Uh, some children, actually some children actually just live

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by themself or live in or live with, other relatives.

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Those actually are the most vulnerable children.

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Uh, but, it's a small percentage,

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but the Lambert could still be very large

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because China is so big.

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Uh, but those are the most vulnerable children.

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Um, I actually don't, haven't interviewed, anyone

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with them because,

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just the percentage, very, very small.

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I think the research here is,

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it does not provide a very clear answer for it.

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It's quite ambiguous.

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I think the, the reason for that is probably

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because, I mean, again, China is very big

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and they just, the, the, the, there are all kinds

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of different cultural,

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the local factors, the local socioeconomic, factors

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that could, impact, the place I

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do the in did the interview, two grandparent

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care taking actually is a, is not a bad arrangement.

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It is not a bad arrangement.

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It, again, the reason for that is

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because is the financial reason, financial reason.

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Uh, when two parents working outside,

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they provide more money for grandparents.

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So grandparents don't have to work, you know,

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on the farmland.

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So they have more time to, either stay

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with the, with the grandchildren.

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So that is a lot action lot, such a bad arrangement.

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Uh, the, but the,

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the caretaking arrangement, I, I don't think

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that's the most important, factor.

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The most important factor is, is more about how,

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the caretakers do the job.

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So, our caretakers able to, develop some kind

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of emotional connection with the grandchildren

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and also with, with the children or grandchildren,

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or are they able to provide, you know, you know, all the,

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the basic, the, the, the,

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the basic support, you know, the, the financial support

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or, you know, other kind of support for children, that's,

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that's actually more important.

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So, there, there are also some kind of interesting,

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complication, some kind of interesting interaction there.

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For example, the children's gender

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and the caretakers gender, you know, may kind of interact

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with each other, like a, like a, like a girls, for example,

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they left behind the girls.

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They may need to do more, household chores

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when a father is a kid caretaker.

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So, so it's kind of complicated.

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It's hard to say, you know, which c taking arrangement,

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impacts negatively impacts children more.

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But one c taking arrangement, I, highlight in my book

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is what I call, one grandparent caretaking.

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So that is in the household.

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Uh, only one grandparent is available.

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The other one is, passed away.

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Most time passed away or divorced.

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But for lot of generation there,

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divorce rate is extremely low.

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So basically the other parent grandparent, passed away.

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And for those kind of household, it's very difficult

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for the grandparent

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To basically do, you know, to doing the

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parenting, you know, becoming a mother

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and a father at the same time.

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And also they're, you know, on average, they're,

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they're much older and they don't have the physical

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or mental, abilities either to take, take care

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of children so lot actually, that's, that's what I found.

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And I don't think other people

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has pay much attention to that.

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It is, it's one grandparent care taking household,

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I think a lot is,

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I look at all kind of different outcomes.

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A lot, lot of ones probably your children living

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with those kind of household is probably the most vulnerable

224
00:12:36.895 --> 00:12:39.305
ones for school performance.

225
00:12:40.005 --> 00:12:42.585
Uh, the, the findings are kind of quite mixed.

226
00:12:43.605 --> 00:12:47.235
Um, the, the impact of

227
00:12:48.755 --> 00:12:52.995
parental migration, schooling is,

228
00:12:53.235 --> 00:12:57.365
I think it's two folded, you know, first is,

229
00:12:57.435 --> 00:12:58.485
when both parents

230
00:12:58.785 --> 00:13:02.525
or one parent migrate, children, they,

231
00:13:02.525 --> 00:13:04.645
they do provide more resources, you know,

232
00:13:05.035 --> 00:13:08.165
financial resources for children to attend school.

233
00:13:08.345 --> 00:13:12.325
Uh, I think this is particularly true for girls

234
00:13:13.245 --> 00:13:17.535
because in in rural, rural China, there's a kind of a,

235
00:13:17.685 --> 00:13:18.975
some preference, right?

236
00:13:19.635 --> 00:13:23.455
Um, so, so when there are more resources,

237
00:13:23.585 --> 00:13:26.655
girls then have the opportunity to go to school.

238
00:13:27.255 --> 00:13:31.495
I think this is, a quite positive, positive finding,

239
00:13:31.495 --> 00:13:32.735
especially good for girls.

240
00:13:33.075 --> 00:13:35.415
But then at the same time, you know, parental absence

241
00:13:36.085 --> 00:13:40.235
basically means, parents, they,

242
00:13:40.745 --> 00:13:45.315
they're not actively involved with children's schooling such

243
00:13:45.435 --> 00:13:49.755
as tutoring or attending at,

244
00:13:50.015 --> 00:13:53.555
school meetings, you know, parent teach conferences,

245
00:13:53.695 --> 00:13:56.035
you know, those kind of, those kind of stuff.

246
00:13:56.295 --> 00:14:01.095
So, so the effect is kind of,

247
00:14:01.155 --> 00:14:03.975
you know, both positive and negative.

248
00:14:03.975 --> 00:14:06.455
And I think that's probably one of the reasons

249
00:14:06.605 --> 00:14:11.335
that we don't see, too much positive or negative effect.

250
00:14:11.675 --> 00:14:14.695
But for girls, I think it's mostly, mostly positive

251
00:14:14.795 --> 00:14:15.815
or delinquency.

252
00:14:16.075 --> 00:14:20.975
Um, you know, I, I'm, I'm reluctant to say parent maturation

253
00:14:21.955 --> 00:14:24.695
is associated with, delinquency.

254
00:14:25.595 --> 00:14:29.735
Uh, the delinquency level in rural area is,

255
00:14:30.875 --> 00:14:32.815
is, very, very low.

256
00:14:33.155 --> 00:14:34.295
Is extremely low.

257
00:14:34.415 --> 00:14:37.095
I think one of the reason is just that, you know,

258
00:14:37.355 --> 00:14:39.695
all the young people go to urban area.

259
00:14:39.765 --> 00:14:44.075
They don't have lots kind of, antisocial

260
00:14:44.255 --> 00:14:45.595
or delinquent role models.

261
00:14:45.785 --> 00:14:47.155
They don't have those kind of people.

262
00:14:47.935 --> 00:14:50.435
Uh, they,

263
00:14:51.785 --> 00:14:55.855
but, there are some other factors

264
00:14:56.485 --> 00:15:00.045
that may, make the,

265
00:15:00.225 --> 00:15:05.125
if the negative effect of parental absence to be more sien.

266
00:15:05.425 --> 00:15:07.765
So, for example, you know, one thing I observe,

267
00:15:08.225 --> 00:15:12.165
and I think it's extremely interesting, is parental divorce.

268
00:15:13.005 --> 00:15:16.005
Parental divorce, and the parental divorce in China,

269
00:15:16.665 --> 00:15:21.365
and especially in rural China, is just, is increasing.

270
00:15:21.865 --> 00:15:24.525
So it's increasing so rapidly.

271
00:15:25.065 --> 00:15:27.885
Uh, I think it's associated with economic development,

272
00:15:28.345 --> 00:15:32.005
but it's also, is associated with, migration

273
00:15:32.005 --> 00:15:35.205
because, you know, young women now, they are exposed

274
00:15:35.385 --> 00:15:39.965
to a kind of more, you know, kind of more liberal

275
00:15:40.185 --> 00:15:43.925
or progressive, social norms regarding marriage.

276
00:15:45.345 --> 00:15:49.085
Uh, but parental divorce has so much

277
00:15:49.665 --> 00:15:52.965
impact on left behind the children, you know, basically

278
00:15:52.965 --> 00:15:56.685
because, the conflict, it spills over.

279
00:15:57.105 --> 00:16:00.605
So, so it's not only conflict, between parents,

280
00:16:00.705 --> 00:16:04.325
but also conflict between grandparents and the parents,

281
00:16:04.665 --> 00:16:08.605
and the conflict between, maternal and the,

282
00:16:09.185 --> 00:16:10.645
and the panal grandparents.

283
00:16:11.145 --> 00:16:13.485
So children, a lot of times they, they, they,

284
00:16:13.485 --> 00:16:14.885
they see this kind of conflict.

285
00:16:14.885 --> 00:16:17.125
They see those kind of, tension.

286
00:16:18.145 --> 00:16:21.845
Um, and then those kind of, you know, experience,

287
00:16:22.955 --> 00:16:25.695
I think makes children feel that they are,

288
00:16:26.085 --> 00:16:29.575
they're a lot wanted, they feel like confused.

289
00:16:29.605 --> 00:16:31.895
They don't know, you know, what happens

290
00:16:31.895 --> 00:16:34.855
because they don't really see the parents too much.

291
00:16:34.915 --> 00:16:37.805
And it, parents can visit,

292
00:16:38.975 --> 00:16:43.825
parents visit the, the, the children, maybe once

293
00:16:44.085 --> 00:16:48.915
or two times, two times a year, especially for those who,

294
00:16:49.695 --> 00:16:53.675
work in a different province or different state.

295
00:16:54.175 --> 00:16:57.675
So they only, they, so the parents actually only visit the

296
00:16:58.355 --> 00:17:01.505
children that get two times

297
00:17:01.845 --> 00:17:03.945
or most, three times a year.

298
00:17:04.005 --> 00:17:07.225
So they, so children don't exactly understand, you know,

299
00:17:07.225 --> 00:17:09.105
what happened between their parents.

300
00:17:09.365 --> 00:17:11.025
So they get very confused

301
00:17:11.605 --> 00:17:16.065
and, they feel like they are a burden to the parents

302
00:17:16.065 --> 00:17:19.545
because there's a lot of struggle fighting about custody,

303
00:17:20.475 --> 00:17:25.345
about, you know, paying money, to, you know,

304
00:17:25.345 --> 00:17:28.225
for, for, for the children, about school.

305
00:17:29.165 --> 00:17:32.865
Um, so they, they feel like they, they may be unwanted,

306
00:17:32.895 --> 00:17:36.545
they may be, abandoned by, by, parents.

307
00:17:36.965 --> 00:17:40.105
So it's not only the parental migration, I think other,

308
00:17:41.015 --> 00:17:44.385
when they are a host of those kind of negative factors,

309
00:17:44.855 --> 00:17:49.105
when they accumulate it, that has just

310
00:17:49.185 --> 00:17:50.405
so much impact on children.

311
00:17:50.675 --> 00:17:53.365
It's a delinquency. I observed that it's like,

312
00:17:53.635 --> 00:17:56.405
running away,

313
00:17:56.405 --> 00:17:59.885
jumping out from school at early age,

314
00:18:00.065 --> 00:18:03.245
or sometimes, you know, have a little bit of contact

315
00:18:03.315 --> 00:18:04.725
with the criminal justice system.

316
00:18:05.515 --> 00:18:08.805
Many of the children are actually the left behind children,

317
00:18:09.505 --> 00:18:11.605
and the parents are divorced at the same time.

318
00:18:11.865 --> 00:18:16.325
In my book, I actually focus on a concept,

319
00:18:16.355 --> 00:18:19.245
that comes from, psychiatry that is,

320
00:18:19.465 --> 00:18:20.885
is called ambiguous laws.

321
00:18:21.355 --> 00:18:26.125
Ambiguous laws. So ambiguous laws means,

322
00:18:26.275 --> 00:18:29.565
parents, means, children left behind.

323
00:18:29.845 --> 00:18:33.555
Children are quite confused

324
00:18:34.165 --> 00:18:35.675
about the parent.

325
00:18:36.175 --> 00:18:37.955
The, the, the, the parents migration.

326
00:18:38.265 --> 00:18:41.435
They, on the one hand, they understand that the parents

327
00:18:42.145 --> 00:18:46.275
migrant migrate for the, sake

328
00:18:46.275 --> 00:18:47.995
of the family, for the sake of children.

329
00:18:48.455 --> 00:18:51.915
But then at the same time, they also acknowledge that the,

330
00:18:52.745 --> 00:18:55.715
that the, the parents don't have any kind of,

331
00:18:56.465 --> 00:18:57.835
emotional connection with them.

332
00:18:58.095 --> 00:18:59.715
So they have financial connection

333
00:18:59.985 --> 00:19:03.155
because the parents provide for the children,

334
00:19:03.375 --> 00:19:06.715
but they don't have any kind of emotional connection, like

335
00:19:06.715 --> 00:19:11.075
what I mentioned in, the, they, the,

336
00:19:11.295 --> 00:19:13.995
the parents don't have too much contact

337
00:19:14.145 --> 00:19:15.555
with the children at all.

338
00:19:15.555 --> 00:19:17.995
They visit the children again, maybe two

339
00:19:17.995 --> 00:19:19.515
or three times a a year.

340
00:19:19.695 --> 00:19:21.435
So, so children,

341
00:19:23.165 --> 00:19:26.335
they don't really have any kind of emotional intimacy

342
00:19:26.365 --> 00:19:27.895
with their, their, their parents.

343
00:19:28.235 --> 00:19:32.295
And the, the, the, the word stranger,

344
00:19:34.195 --> 00:19:39.095
actually is very often mentioned by children.

345
00:19:39.205 --> 00:19:40.455
When they talk about their parents.

346
00:19:40.835 --> 00:19:44.135
If they, they talk to me multiple times saying, you know,

347
00:19:44.275 --> 00:19:46.695
my parents are just like a, a stranger.

348
00:19:47.095 --> 00:19:48.975
A stranger. There are a lot, you know,

349
00:19:49.055 --> 00:19:50.215
I don't really load them.

350
00:19:50.375 --> 00:19:54.885
I don't load them. Even, load them

351
00:19:55.185 --> 00:19:57.445
as a, as a is some people in the village.

352
00:19:57.665 --> 00:20:00.725
So it is, the emotional connection is lot.

353
00:20:00.725 --> 00:20:04.045
There lot actually creates a lot of problems.

354
00:20:04.065 --> 00:20:06.845
That's psychological problems like anxiety,

355
00:20:07.265 --> 00:20:09.365
social withdrawal, depression stuff.

356
00:20:09.805 --> 00:20:13.685
I think I, I, I try to propose some kind of

357
00:20:14.685 --> 00:20:19.005
interventions, you know, policies, programs,

358
00:20:20.225 --> 00:20:24.845
I think ideal, intervention would be

359
00:20:25.035 --> 00:20:28.725
that the, you know, I wanna see the end of the, the system.

360
00:20:28.885 --> 00:20:30.365
I want to see the end of the,

361
00:20:30.545 --> 00:20:32.165
the household registration system

362
00:20:32.165 --> 00:20:36.405
because, it is associated with the, a lot of

363
00:20:37.005 --> 00:20:40.885
policies, especially access to social benefits like housing,

364
00:20:41.705 --> 00:20:46.485
public school,

365
00:20:47.265 --> 00:20:51.485
Medicare or Medicare or, employment

366
00:20:51.485 --> 00:20:52.925
and those kind of opportunities.

367
00:20:53.345 --> 00:20:55.685
And right now I think that the government is,

368
00:20:56.335 --> 00:21:00.005
doing something, but the pace is very slow.

369
00:21:00.065 --> 00:21:02.125
So I, I, I would like, want to see some kind

370
00:21:02.125 --> 00:21:04.765
of reform in the education system

371
00:21:05.265 --> 00:21:08.565
so children at the least can have access to

372
00:21:09.115 --> 00:21:10.165
good public schools.

373
00:21:10.625 --> 00:21:13.685
So now the, migrant children,

374
00:21:14.985 --> 00:21:18.525
if children go to the cities, they actually,

375
00:21:18.745 --> 00:21:21.245
now they are able to go to the, the public schools

376
00:21:22.105 --> 00:21:23.525
for most of the, the children.

377
00:21:23.525 --> 00:21:25.165
They're able to go to public schools,

378
00:21:25.505 --> 00:21:27.925
but they don't have access to the same kind

379
00:21:27.925 --> 00:21:29.685
of public schools, not

380
00:21:29.685 --> 00:21:31.725
that our urban counterparts, have.

381
00:21:32.145 --> 00:21:34.965
So the quality of the public school is actually,

382
00:21:34.965 --> 00:21:38.525
is a much lower compared with the, the schools

383
00:21:38.555 --> 00:21:39.925
that the urban children go.

384
00:21:39.945 --> 00:21:42.525
So, I wanna see some kind of reform there.

385
00:21:42.845 --> 00:21:44.805
I mean, it's, it's, it's difficult.

386
00:21:44.985 --> 00:21:49.485
And also the reform in the national entrance, system,

387
00:21:50.105 --> 00:21:54.765
children now for most children, when they,

388
00:21:55.555 --> 00:21:58.325
take the, the national entrance exam, yeah, last,

389
00:21:58.495 --> 00:22:01.405
those are the exams to, to get to high school

390
00:22:01.465 --> 00:22:04.405
or to get to college, they actually have to return

391
00:22:05.385 --> 00:22:10.085
to their own, you know, the migrant origin,

392
00:22:10.195 --> 00:22:11.965
area to take the exams.

393
00:22:12.225 --> 00:22:13.645
And that's a big disadvantage

394
00:22:13.645 --> 00:22:16.165
because sometimes the curriculum are different.

395
00:22:16.305 --> 00:22:18.325
So the, the, the host cities and the,

396
00:22:19.185 --> 00:22:23.445
and the migrant origin places you the, the,

397
00:22:23.705 --> 00:22:25.765
the curriculum may, may be totally different.

398
00:22:25.825 --> 00:22:28.765
So creates a lot of, problems

399
00:22:28.945 --> 00:22:31.005
for children when they take the exams.

400
00:22:31.105 --> 00:22:33.845
So those are kind of the, you know, as the structural level,

401
00:22:33.855 --> 00:22:37.925
those are the, ones, I want to see some kind

402
00:22:37.925 --> 00:22:41.125
of full change at the, at the program level.

403
00:22:41.155 --> 00:22:42.845
This is, I know we don't have much time,

404
00:22:43.875 --> 00:22:47.245
this is the one thing I really want to highlight is

405
00:22:48.245 --> 00:22:50.845
children actually go to go

406
00:22:50.945 --> 00:22:54.405
and visit their parents in the summer, in the summer,

407
00:22:55.025 --> 00:22:57.165
but they face a lot of challenges.

408
00:22:57.225 --> 00:22:59.245
The biggest challenge is, I think I mentioned it

409
00:22:59.245 --> 00:23:01.955
before, is your parents don't have space.

410
00:23:02.745 --> 00:23:05.955
They have at the most, you know, one small, tiny,

411
00:23:06.895 --> 00:23:09.475
one room apartment, so they don't have space.

412
00:23:09.655 --> 00:23:12.075
And then a lot of challenge is the parents don't have time.

413
00:23:12.855 --> 00:23:16.215
So they work either every day.

414
00:23:17.265 --> 00:23:20.395
Most of them work at least like six days a week.

415
00:23:21.175 --> 00:23:26.155
And, and they also work in, you know, the, the, the,

416
00:23:26.375 --> 00:23:27.635
irregular hours.

417
00:23:27.865 --> 00:23:31.195
They could work at night till 11 or something like that.

418
00:23:31.495 --> 00:23:32.795
So the parents don't have time.

419
00:23:33.455 --> 00:23:36.515
Uh, but then we could have those kind of programs,

420
00:23:36.525 --> 00:23:40.155
those kind of volunteer programs, the, the, the, the

421
00:23:41.095 --> 00:23:43.915
in big cities like Shanghais and then, or,

422
00:23:44.175 --> 00:23:46.005
or even smaller cities, there are a lot

423
00:23:46.005 --> 00:23:49.605
of undergrad students, you know, who want to do something so

424
00:23:49.605 --> 00:23:51.925
that we can have those kind of programs

425
00:23:52.475 --> 00:23:56.485
that those undergrad, students can organize

426
00:23:56.665 --> 00:24:01.245
and can, you know, help for example, tutor, to the, the,

427
00:24:01.305 --> 00:24:03.245
the, the visiting children

428
00:24:03.705 --> 00:24:07.765
or introduce them to the city culture to, you know,

429
00:24:08.185 --> 00:24:09.405
to help them, you know,

430
00:24:09.405 --> 00:24:11.405
visit the different parts of the city.

431
00:24:11.705 --> 00:24:15.765
So in not way children don't feel, bored

432
00:24:16.705 --> 00:24:19.805
or trapped you, this is very interesting

433
00:24:19.805 --> 00:24:21.005
because you, you think they're going

434
00:24:21.005 --> 00:24:23.125
to be excited to visit their parents.

435
00:24:23.705 --> 00:24:28.045
But, many pa many children actually told me,

436
00:24:28.705 --> 00:24:32.205
so saying, well, they were just crying after one week,

437
00:24:32.225 --> 00:24:33.285
and they want to go back

438
00:24:33.355 --> 00:24:34.885
because the parents don't have time.

439
00:24:34.905 --> 00:24:37.645
So they, so they were just trapped in just one room,

440
00:24:38.155 --> 00:24:39.965
apartment, and they cannot do anything.

441
00:24:40.225 --> 00:24:42.845
So I, I think this, these are some kind of the programs

442
00:24:42.845 --> 00:24:44.165
that I, you know, I was talking

443
00:24:44.165 --> 00:24:46.765
with the social workers in China, so maybe, you know,

444
00:24:46.765 --> 00:24:49.205
we can develop some, you know, some of those programs

445
00:24:49.265 --> 00:24:53.785
and, you know, hopefully, you know, provide,

446
00:24:54.135 --> 00:24:58.705
some kind of, help for the,

447
00:24:59.085 --> 00:24:59.785
you know, for the children.

Quick Answers

From Rural Roots to Urban Migration: A Personal Journey

00:00:00 - I wrote the book, mostly because of my personal experience. So I grew up in rural area, in a small village. I visit China like almost every year, since I came to the United States. And when I was young, when I was like in the seventies and the eighties. you know, all the, in, in, in the, in the small village, every family, you know, all the, the, the family members, they lived together.

00:00:34 - And, everybody, was poor at long time, but we tried to survive. and then, starting from 1990s, the, at the, at first the young people start to migrate to cities, to either the big cities or the, the east coast area because, you know, those places are more,

00:01:07 - So the, that's when the migration started. Lao, if you go to, you know, village like the, the, the village I grew up, it's like, you know, I call it like a, it's like a empty shell that is, you don't see almost anybody aged from 14, 15 years old to about 55, 56.

Voices of the Disadvantaged

00:01:38 - the old people, and the young children. The young children. So, so every year I, you know, I, I go back, I visit China, I talk to my parents. I talk to people in the village, and I see the change, and it's very, you know, dramatic change in 20, 30 years. And I listen to them. I listen to them. They, they actually have a lot to talk about.

00:02:08 - They have a, the life is very difficult. they have suffered a lot over time, but then at the same time, they have some of those kind of, you know, I call them, I call the, the doomed, optim. Optimism, optimism, the doomed optimism. they, they are actually quite optimistic about the future, about the, you know, the, the, the, the children, the, the, the next gen, the, the, younger generations.

00:02:42 - and I feel like, you know, maybe I, I should write a book about them. You know, I, I want, I want them to be able to have some kind of a voice in China, people in rural area, they, they don't really have a forum to speak out. You know, they, they are the most disadvantage, most disadvantage people in China, and they don't have access to, the same kind

Voicing the Voiceless: A Tale of Rural Migration

00:03:14 - but they don't really, have voice anywhere. So I really, so I want to write a book, basically, to be able to provide a forum, you know, so they can, voice their concerns, their, you know, their life, their experience, their hardship, and the suffering. So that's, kind of the reason, you know, I wrote, I wrote the book. We see a lot of people migrate to urban areas,

00:03:46 - normally do not go with their, their parents. Some do a small percentage, they go with their parents to the, host cities, but the majority, stay behind, with mostly grandparents, sometimes one parent, sometimes even, live independently by themselves. So the reason for that is, they, they are structural, barriers.

00:04:19 - level factors, structurally, the, the, the biggest factor is, is, you know, is the China's, household registration system, we call the system. So hook system, was quite, strict before the 1980s, you know, before the 1980s, people in rural area actually allowed, allowed to work in the cities. Very few of them allowed to work in the cities.

Challenges of Access & Inequality

00:04:52 - access to social benefits, like, like public schools, like, housing or, the same kind of employment opportunities. So for, for children, a big barrier for them is, they don't really have access to public schools in urban area. so that's, I would say that's one of the biggest reason

00:05:24 - But there also other reasons. I, a big reason is about is income inequality. Income inequality is the rural people that the migrant parents make much less money than the people in urban area. So they don't, they're not able to afford to bring the children to the urban area, to live there, or, and also they're not able to afford to bring their grandparents to the urban, urban area.

00:05:56 - provide some kind of, you know, afterschool care, you know, those kind of services. And this is very common, even in urban area, in urban area. Grandparents also, many of the grandparents actually deal with the children, the grandchildren. But for migrant parents, they just don't have the money, to bring everybody there. you know, I, I visit multiple migrant parents in urban area.

Multigenerational Care Dynamics

00:06:31 - stay in, like a factory dorm. So like, like four or five, even eight people in one dorm. So if they are married, if both of them walk in the same area, they rent a one, room, apartment, one room apartment. So they, they don't really have the money or the space for the children to go with them.

00:06:58 - and at the, the, the family level, the place I did the interview, and the field observation, the, the most prevalent care taking is grandparent care taking. So grandparenting is the most prevalent. so the, actually the ideal care taking arrangement in the place I interviewed, I did the interview is for both parents going out

00:07:29 - and then the grandparents stay in the home, and they are supported by the migrant parents. And then children are supported by migrant parents. So the grandparenting is the most prevalent form, but some parents, they, either grandparents passed away or they allowed physical or mentally available, you know, mentally, physically, or mentally healthy enough to, to provide care.

Vulnerable Children in One Parent Household

00:08:00 - So, you know, one parent parenting, is the mother or the father stay in the home is also, those are the, the less prevalent, but still, you know, those are the two different forms. some children, actually some children actually just live by themself or live in or live with, other relatives. Those actually are the most vulnerable children. but, it's a small percentage,

00:08:31 - because China is so big. but those are the most vulnerable children. I actually don't, haven't interviewed, anyone with them because, just the percentage, very, very small. I think the research here is, it does not provide a very clear answer for it. It's quite ambiguous. I think the, the reason for that is probably because, I mean, again, China is very big and they just, the, the, the, there are all kinds

00:09:07 - the local factors, the local socioeconomic, factors that could, impact, the place I do the in did the interview, two grandparent care taking actually is a, is not a bad arrangement. It is not a bad arrangement. It, again, the reason for that is because is the financial reason, financial reason.

Caretaking Dynamics Impact

00:09:36 - they provide more money for grandparents. So grandparents don't have to work, you know, on the farmland. So they have more time to, either stay with the, with the grandchildren. So that is a lot action lot, such a bad arrangement. the, but the, the caretaking arrangement, I, I don't think that's the most important, factor.

00:10:10 - the caretakers do the job. So, our caretakers able to, develop some kind of emotional connection with the grandchildren and also with, with the children or grandchildren, or are they able to provide, you know, you know, all the, the basic, the, the, the, the basic support, you know, the, the financial support or, you know, other kind of support for children, that's,

00:10:40 - So, there, there are also some kind of interesting, complication, some kind of interesting interaction there. For example, the children's gender and the caretakers gender, you know, may kind of interact with each other, like a, like a, like a girls, for example, they left behind the girls. They may need to do more, household chores when a father is a kid caretaker.

Effects of One Grandparent Caretaking

00:11:10 - It's hard to say, you know, which c taking arrangement, impacts negatively impacts children more. But one c taking arrangement, I, highlight in my book is what I call, one grandparent caretaking. So that is in the household. only one grandparent is available. The other one is, passed away. Most time passed away or divorced.

00:11:41 - divorce rate is extremely low. So basically the other parent grandparent, passed away. And for those kind of household, it's very difficult for the grandparent To basically do, you know, to doing the parenting, you know, becoming a mother and a father at the same time. And also they're, you know, on average, they're, they're much older and they don't have the physical or mental, abilities either to take, take care

00:12:17 - And I don't think other people has pay much attention to that. It is, it's one grandparent care taking household, I think a lot is, I look at all kind of different outcomes. A lot, lot of ones probably your children living with those kind of household is probably the most vulnerable ones for school performance. the, the findings are kind of quite mixed. the, the impact of

Gender Disparity in Parental Absence Effects on Schooling

00:12:53 - I think it's two folded, you know, first is, when both parents or one parent migrate, children, they, they do provide more resources, you know, financial resources for children to attend school. I think this is particularly true for girls because in in rural, rural China, there's a kind of a, some preference, right?

00:13:23 - girls then have the opportunity to go to school. I think this is, a quite positive, positive finding, especially good for girls. But then at the same time, you know, parental absence basically means, parents, they, they're not actively involved with children's schooling such as tutoring or attending at,

00:13:53 - you know, those kind of, those kind of stuff. So, so the effect is kind of, you know, both positive and negative. And I think that's probably one of the reasons that we don't see, too much positive or negative effect. But for girls, I think it's mostly, mostly positive or delinquency. you know, I, I'm, I'm reluctant to say parent maturation

Parental Absence and Delinquency Trends

00:14:25 - the delinquency level in rural area is, is, very, very low. Is extremely low. I think one of the reason is just that, you know, all the young people go to urban area. They don't have lots kind of, antisocial or delinquent role models. They don't have those kind of people. they, but, there are some other factors

00:15:00 - if the negative effect of parental absence to be more sien. So, for example, you know, one thing I observe, and I think it's extremely interesting, is parental divorce. Parental divorce, and the parental divorce in China, and especially in rural China, is just, is increasing. So it's increasing so rapidly. I think it's associated with economic development,

00:15:32 - because, you know, young women now, they are exposed to a kind of more, you know, kind of more liberal or progressive, social norms regarding marriage. but parental divorce has so much impact on left behind the children, you know, basically because, the conflict, it spills over. So, so it's not only conflict, between parents,

Title suggestion: Parental Conflict & Children's Confusion

00:16:04 - and the conflict between, maternal and the, and the panal grandparents. So children, a lot of times they, they, they, they see this kind of conflict. They see those kind of, tension. and then those kind of, you know, experience, I think makes children feel that they are, they're a lot wanted, they feel like confused. They don't know, you know, what happens

00:16:34 - And it, parents can visit, parents visit the, the, the children, maybe once or two times, two times a year, especially for those who, work in a different province or different state. So they only, they, so the parents actually only visit the children that get two times or most, three times a year.

00:17:07 - what happened between their parents. So they get very confused and, they feel like they are a burden to the parents because there's a lot of struggle fighting about custody, about, you know, paying money, to, you know, for, for, for the children, about school. so they, they feel like they, they may be unwanted, they may be, abandoned by, by, parents.

Impact of Ambiguous Loss in Left-Behind Children

00:17:41 - when they are a host of those kind of negative factors, when they accumulate it, that has just so much impact on children. It's a delinquency. I observed that it's like, running away, jumping out from school at early age, or sometimes, you know, have a little bit of contact with the criminal justice system. Many of the children are actually the left behind children,

00:18:11 - In my book, I actually focus on a concept, that comes from, psychiatry that is, is called ambiguous laws. Ambiguous laws. So ambiguous laws means, parents, means, children left behind. Children are quite confused about the parent. The, the, the, the parents migration. They, on the one hand, they understand that the parents

00:18:46 - of the family, for the sake of children. But then at the same time, they also acknowledge that the, that the, the parents don't have any kind of, emotional connection with them. So they have financial connection because the parents provide for the children, but they don't have any kind of emotional connection, like what I mentioned in, the, they, the, the parents don't have too much contact

Parental Absence and Emotional Disconnect

00:19:15 - They visit the children again, maybe two or three times a a year. So, so children, they don't really have any kind of emotional intimacy with their, their, their parents. And the, the, the, the word stranger, actually is very often mentioned by children. When they talk about their parents. If they, they talk to me multiple times saying, you know,

00:19:47 - A stranger. There are a lot, you know, I don't really load them. I don't load them. Even, load them as a, as a is some people in the village. So it is, the emotional connection is lot. There lot actually creates a lot of problems. That's psychological problems like anxiety, social withdrawal, depression stuff. I think I, I, I try to propose some kind of

00:20:20 - I think ideal, intervention would be that the, you know, I wanna see the end of the, the system. I want to see the end of the, the household registration system because, it is associated with the, a lot of policies, especially access to social benefits like housing, public school,

Call for Educational Reforms for Migrant Children

00:20:51 - and those kind of opportunities. And right now I think that the government is, doing something, but the pace is very slow. So I, I, I would like, want to see some kind of reform in the education system so children at the least can have access to good public schools. So now the, migrant children, if children go to the cities, they actually,

00:21:22 - for most of the, the children. They're able to go to public schools, but they don't have access to the same kind of public schools, not that our urban counterparts, have. So the quality of the public school is actually, is a much lower compared with the, the schools that the urban children go. So, I wanna see some kind of reform there. I mean, it's, it's, it's difficult. And also the reform in the national entrance, system,

00:21:55 - take the, the national entrance exam, yeah, last, those are the exams to, to get to high school or to get to college, they actually have to return to their own, you know, the migrant origin, area to take the exams. And that's a big disadvantage because sometimes the curriculum are different. So the, the, the host cities and the, and the migrant origin places you the, the,

Challenges of Summer Parental Visits

00:22:25 - So creates a lot of, problems for children when they take the exams. So those are kind of the, you know, as the structural level, those are the, ones, I want to see some kind of full change at the, at the program level. This is, I know we don't have much time, this is the one thing I really want to highlight is children actually go to go and visit their parents in the summer, in the summer,

00:22:57 - The biggest challenge is, I think I mentioned it before, is your parents don't have space. They have at the most, you know, one small, tiny, one room apartment, so they don't have space. And then a lot of challenge is the parents don't have time. So they work either every day. Most of them work at least like six days a week. And, and they also work in, you know, the, the, the,

00:23:27 - They could work at night till 11 or something like that. So the parents don't have time. but then we could have those kind of programs, those kind of volunteer programs, the, the, the, the in big cities like Shanghais and then, or, or even smaller cities, there are a lot of undergrad students, you know, who want to do something so that we can have those kind of programs that those undergrad, students can organize

City Culture Enrichment Program

00:24:01 - the, the visiting children or introduce them to the city culture to, you know, to help them, you know, visit the different parts of the city. So in not way children don't feel, bored or trapped you, this is very interesting because you, you think they're going to be excited to visit their parents. But, many pa many children actually told me,

00:24:32 - and they want to go back because the parents don't have time. So they, so they were just trapped in just one room, apartment, and they cannot do anything. So I, I think this, these are some kind of the programs that I, you know, I was talking with the social workers in China, so maybe, you know, we can develop some, you know, some of those programs and, you know, hopefully, you know, provide, some kind of, help for the,

00:24:59 -

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