Question

Document F
Source: Jaime FlorCruz, “China Copes with Promise and Perils of One-Child Policy,” CNN, October 29, 2011.
Xiao Xuan
The high cost of the one-child policy is felt deeply by Beijing resident Xiao Xuan, an only-child daughter of a college professor and shopping mall manager. Xiao, 22, says she was blessed with all the attention and resources showered at her from childhood.
Still, she says, she had a mostly lonely childhood. “I used to cu! my$elf on my wrist after being yelled at by my mom and dad because I didn’t know who I should talk to or turn to,” she says. “I was like that for almost two years, but I am very tough so I made it through.”
“I hate to say it but the one-child policy should partly be blamed for some social issues of youth today,” she adds. “It’s been a ridiculous government interference on family issues.”
She wished she had a brother or a sister to share all the attention.

Note: An Internet survey of 7,000 Chinese only children between the ages of 15 and 25 found that 58 percent admitted to being lonely. A majority also described themselves as being selfish. However, many enjoyed being the “sun” around which the family revolved. (Source: NPR, November 24, 2010.)


Source: Louisa Lim, “China’s ‘Little Emperors’ Lucky, Yet Lonely in Life,” NPR, November 24, 2010.

A. J. Song
“I really appreciate [being the] one child, especially from the countryside,” admits 23-year- old A.J. Song, whose parents are from the Gelao minority in Guizhou province.
“My parents, they give me everything. I’m the center of attention in the family. My mother has seven brothers and sisters; my father has six brothers and sisters. Most of my parents’ brothers and sisters have two kids. They are all very jealous about me being the only child,” he says.
Other Chinese research finds advantages to being an only child: They tend to score higher on intelligence tests and are better at making friends, according to Chinese studies.
Song agrees, saying he believes only children care more about their friends. He says the extra investment parents make in an only child is significant.
“If I had a sibling, I probably wouldn’t be who I am now. Probably I’d still be in my small village, getting married and having kids. If you have more kids in your family, probably they’re lacking in education, lacking food, lacking any kind of support, no matter emotional or financial. Basically, everybody is going to be average.”


Based on this document, how was China's one-child policy a bad idea?

Answer 1

Briefly: the document shows the one-child policy produced serious emotional and social costs despite material advantages. Key problems illustrated:

- Emotional harm and mental-health problems: Xiao Xuan recounts being “mostly lonely,” even cutting her wrist after fights with her parents. An internet survey of 7,000 only children found 58% admitted to being lonely.

- Social and personality issues: Many only children described themselves as selfish and blamed the policy for “some social issues of youth today.” NPR’s piece labels them “little emperors” — materially favored but socially problematic.

- Loss of sibling support and companionship: Only children like Xiao “wished she had a brother or a sister” to share attention and emotional support, indicating a lifelong social deficit created by the policy.

- Government overreach into family life: Xiao calls the policy “a ridiculous government interference on family issues,” highlighting the ethical and personal-freedom costs.

Taken together, the document argues that while only children often received concentrated resources, the policy generated loneliness, social/behavioral problems, and denied families the choice of more than one child.