International Women's Day was observed globally more than two weeks ago, but an essay written by a 9-year-old Chinese boy to mark the day just went viral on Weibo, China’s most popular microblogging site.
The incident involving the family in Zhejiang Province illustrates how electronic devices such as mobile phones disrupt family life. The boy honored his mother on March 9 by writing about her in his school assignment. He eventually shared it on social media where the essay has more than 9 million hits in less than 24 hours after its posting, reported Taizhou Evening News.
He wrote, “Today is International Women’s Day, so I’d like to thank the hard work my mom does every day and do something for her. First I told her a story by mama doesn’t seem to like it and kept looking at her phone. My mood worsened. Then I thought she might appreciate it better if I were to congratulate her,” quoted Epoch Times.
However, despite his congratulations, she continued to ignore him and to stare on her phone. This made the boy sadder, so he gave her a back massage, but his best pound was not worthy of even a single smile from her that as a last resort, the boy washed his mother’s feet.
That made her stop looking at her phone, making the son a little happier so he told her he is doing his best, hoping to get some praise from the mother after washing her feet. “But with a serious voice she told me, ‘It’s nice of to wash my feet today, but you should’ve put more effort into it,’” he wrote further.
He continued, “I looked at her blankly as she walked out of the room. ‘Hurry up and write your diary!’ she said, before closing the door. This is how I spent my sad International Women’s Day.”
Zhao, the mother, said that when she read her son’s diary, she looked at her husband and they broke out into laughter. But she admitted, “I immediately felt ashamed.” She confessed that she and her husband always check social media on their phones and play games and when the son asks for help on his homework, she sometimes gets impatient.
“I didn’t realize that my behavior was having such a big influence on my son’s growth,” said Zhao, who added she will not give her son more time and spend less time on her phone.