Sun Yunxiao and a great start in life

"Don't let children lose out at the beginning of life" is a widely held belief about early education in China. As such, parents push the kids to take up all kinds of learning, such as foreign languages, arts and sports.

Writer and educator Sun Yunxiao's new book Don't Panic, Baby, targets this theory, saying too much pressure from parents to win all competitions will only result in childhood panic and thereby trigger serious consequences.

"I know of two 12-year-olds in Fujian province who drowned in fear of their parents who scolded them for losing keys to the house; and a kindergarten girl in Tianjin who lost her hair when told to prepare for an interview to get into a top elementary school," Sun says.