Independent coffee shop in northern China slaps ban on homework sessions on premises over fears stressed-out parents might lose their cool. Move follows slew of stories about volatile, home-tutoring mums and dads which have made headlines nationwide recently. — SCMP
A coffee shop in China has slapped a ban on parents who bring their children onto the premises to study because the stress of schooling “usually causes emotional turbulence”.
The tutoring ban has resonated with many people on mainland social media after recent cases of parents losing their cool during homework sessions made headlines in China.
According to Bailu Video, an independent café in northern China’s Tianjin municipality has posted a notice on its door that reads: “No parents bringing children to do homework here please”.
The cafe owner – a father of a four-year-old child – said the ban only applied to those who came in to study, adding that the outlet remained friendly to families with children who only want to enjoy drinks and food.
He said that he imposed the ban because “tutoring usually causes emotional turbulence for both parents and children”.
By banning them he wanted to provide other customers with a comfortable environment.
The move has won support from many online.
“As someone who has witnessed parents being irritated by tutoring their children’s homework, I totally understand this ban,” said one person.
“I met a mother tutoring her child’s calligraphy homework at a Starbucks coffee shop last week and became so frightened that I left with a takeaway coffee,” commented another.
A third person said that many Chinese parents take their children to study in cafes and book shops, especially during the summer holidays, to take advantage of the comfortable air-conditioned environment for little cost.
A few online observers suggested that the ban was designed to attract different customers who spend more money. The owner denied this, saying he welcomed people to work and read books.
“It is his shop. He can do whatever he wants,” another social media commenter said.
Under Chinese law, merchants are free to refuse the custom of anyone they want, as long as it does not involve discrimination.
Last month, video footage of a mother violently slapping her son and herself while helping the boy with his homework caused an online stir in China.
The hysterical woman from Anhui province in eastern China lost control after her son failed to answer homework questions correctly.
In March, a father from eastern China’s Jiangsu province banged his fist on a desk several times while tutoring his six-year-old daughter.
Their anxiety and frustration have been seen by many as a reflection of the country’s highly competitive education system. – South China Morning Post
