Chinese students are sent by their parents to the United States in hopes for better education and a better future. But with the growing cases of depression, isolation and anxiety, is this practice doing these Chinese kids more harm than good?
Chinese student Yuhan "Coco" Yang flew to America to escape from the dawn to dusk schooling of China. In Yang's homecountry, competition for education is tough and finishing a college degree is a must. Yang's parents, like many other Chinese parents decided to send her overseas to give her a better shot at education.
Yang is only one of the many Chinese "Parachute Kids", the term coined for chinese children sent by their parents to the U.S. for furthering their education. South China Post says that these kids stay with host parents, away from the physical and emotional support of their biological families to learn new culture, master the english language and earn a degree.
Recent reports, however, reveal an alarming truth that being alone in a foreign land has lead a growing number of Parachute kids to isolation, depression and increased anxiety. In worse cases, they end up in prison.
Yang is one of the three parachute kids sentenced to jail last March 2015 by the California courts. According to News, the arrest was due to their roles on the kidnapping and torture of another Chinese teenager who was burnt with cigarettes and forced to eat her own hair.
Even thjough the chance of breaking into further education is important, parents fail to consider the emotional distress that affects children who are sent far away from home. Some parents focus on their financial and emotional sacrifices and forget that their children are also required to sacrifice and overcome so much more.
Psychologists Dennis Yang says parachute kids are susceptible to isolation, aggression, anxiety, depression and even suicide. Experts warn that while the idea may sound good so as to gain a competitive edge, it also poses great dangers for students who are not ready to take care of themselves.
