China's children buckling under the pressure of their parents' deferred dreams

Almost exactly the same as in India. That's why people here in US think that everyone in India is smart _and_ hardworking. Well, the truth is that they encounter only those people who have survived all this. There are countless millions who suffer.

"These kids have the same dreams as all middle-class kids: to go to college, to get white-collar jobs, to own their own home, to have Nikes and name brands,"<p>Wanting white-collar jobs and their own homes, I understand, but name brands? Well, that's the problem. The whole purpose of name brands are to create artificial scarcity. if the goal is to have a good life, that is definitely achievable, but if the goal is to be better than everyone else, only some will meet that goal.

<i>"They've worked hard for it, and it's what their parents have focused their lives on. But the problem is that the country can't provide the lifestyle they feel they deserve. Only a few will get it."</i><p>Ah, such economic ignorance! What is this "country" that "can't provide" if it isn't the people themselves who are to be provided for. People both take and create jobs.<p><i>the national college entrance exam—China's magnified version of the SAT</i><p>The SAT is (or was) a covert IQ test. If the Chinese test is the same, then these kids are wasting the vast portion of their energies.<p><i>At one top Beijing kindergarten, students must know pi to 100 digits by age 3.</i><p>Why would you send your kids to a "top" school in order to destroy them intellectually? Who in the world thinks that such insane tasks could be valuable?

You know how only children have a reputation for being a little... ah... selfish? (I am one).<p>Now, imagine a nation of only children.

Some stats are ridiculous! A monthly salary of RMB45 ?That might be true 30 years ago.