‘I don’t want money, I just want mum’: sobbing boy begs mother not to leave home, spotlights plight of ‘left-behind’ kids in China again
- Independent estimates put the number of left-behind children at around 70 million with one or both parents away, and 31 million with both gone
- A major factor in decisions to leave children behind is the hukou, China’s rigid household registration system, which makes relocating very difficult
The term refers to families where either one or both parents live away for most of the time from their children, mainly as migrant workers in big cities.
Official government figures claimed there were almost 13 million left-behind children in 2020. However, most independent estimates put the figure at around 70 million for households where one or both parents live away, and 31 million for those with both parents gone. The vast majority of these children are from impoverished rural areas.
The unnamed boy in the news report is a typical example of a left-behind child. Both of his parents work in Shanghai for most of the year while he lives with his grandparents in Fuyang city in Anhui province, southeastern China.
It’s difficult for the parents too. They want to give the children a better life as well as stay with them, but sometimes we don’t have a choice
On Monday, the boy was filmed as he was being told that his mother was leaving home again to resume her work in Shanghai, causing the boy to become distraught, Star Video reported.
