A Chinese man is being scolded by the Internet for forcing his 4-year-old son to work out half-naked on the snowy streets of New York City last month. He Liesheng, who has been dubbed "Eagle Dad" because his tough child-rearing techniques remind some of an eagle shoving its young out of the nest, says he made his son exercise in the snow to get him to develop a "masculine temperament. I believe I am helping my son in this way, to force him to challenge limitations and exceed his own expectations." Here's video of the kid crying on the street in his underwear:
Liesheng, a Nanjing businessman, recorded the video while on vacation in New York. He told a Chinese newspaper that his son was born prematurely with an array of medical problems, and he's tried to raise the boy to overcome his physical limitations. Liesheng reportedly dunked the child in 25-degree water just weeks after he left the incubator, and made him climb a mountain at age 2. "I also give him cold ice cream on cold winter days to train his stomach to get used to the cold," Liesheng also says. "He rarely has a cold or fever."
Of course, this isn't the first time Chinese parents' tough child-rearing techniques have raised eyebrows. Last year, there was a big stir over the "Tiger Mom" parenting method, which became news after Yale University law professor and mother of two Amy Chua wrote an op-ed in the Journal stating, "The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable—even legally actionable—to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, 'Hey fatty—lose some weight.'"
