Olympics

K.,

I think this is an example of the extremes some sports go to for success. I believe the cost is too great. I certainly wouldn't send my child away and only see them once a year just because they had some physical ability. BUT...China is very different in how they value life...communist society and all. Thanks for sharing. I missed that story.

D.

I agree that it's very sad, but so many Chinese baby girls are left by the roadside, at least this girl has a home.

That story broke my heart too. The girl had a very solemn looking face - no smiles at all. Makes one think what she is thinking. I wonder if her parents were there watching. I hope so !! What a shame.

I think that story is sad...she succeeded the Olympic dream -but did she succeed for herself or for her parents???...
I think as parents, we all want great things for our children, but more than anything...I want mine to be productive and happy as adults...
PS - I love the Olympics, too!!

The Chinese culture is so different from ours that many times we cannot understand their decisions. Parents do control their children and parents are respected. It is also a way to bring honor to the family by winning the gold and this is also very important. If she had been allowed to come home, that would bring dishonor to the family.

God Bless the U.S.A. I am thankful that I live in this great country and that my great grandparents had the foresight to leave their respective poor countries and make a better life for themselves in the United States and the generations that followed them. And they did just that!

There was a very interesting piece on the Op Ed page of yesterday's New York Times, reporting on studies done showing the different ways cultures think. It is worth reading. Perhaps you can find it online? Essentially it said Americans view themselves as individuals whereas in China human beings are viewed in context to their culture....as part of a bigger group. That poor child's life was sacrificed for the glory of China. It is a tragedy and one I won't forget. However, even though we think we are better than that, we also do sacrifice our children for the good of our country. How many 18 and 19 year old in Iraq would rather be home with their mothers now?

I heard the same story. It's so sad. In China you are only allowed to have one child. So if your child is taken away at age 3 to do gymnastics, you have no children at home. I can't understand how any parents could give up their only child for a sport! From what I understand the parents are compensated well for doing it, but I don't think good housing or good food, etc., would be enough for me to give up my only child.

I was happy to see they won the gold metal. They deserved it! They were much better than the USA. I just wish there was a way for the IOC to verify they were all old enough to be there!

Your comment "I can't believe what humans are capable of" just goes to show that you do not know what poverty and desperation humans can live in. Feel grateful that you live in the USA! China is not the only country that does these to their children - Romania and Russia do it as well, both boys and girls, as well as many other countries, I'm sure. Success in the Olympics means that their families get better food, better housing, and other "luxuries" such as televisions, washing machines, etc., that many in the US take for granted. I have a friend who is Korean by birth - her birth parents had her adopted because they simply could not afford her - they already had three children, as my friend found out decades later.

I think it's sad that the chinese government tears the family apart like that. Instead of thinking back to the days of her spending time with her family she has memories of wanting to come home and being someplace else..being forced into something she didn't want to do. It's great shes good at it, sure, but at what price did this come? Communism sucks and its no life to live. Thats what I think. If these people were able to life a free life and do as they choose for jobs and such then THAT would be beautiful. It's too bad. My heart goes out to those people. Yeah, it's amazing what people can do when forced to live such a shitty quality of life and lose homes and lives over the olympics coming to town...fantastic.

That is a really sad story. Traditional Chinese family values can be different than ours. Filial duty, doing what your parents decide for you, is a big deal. Also, parents often plan their children's future for them, as happened with this little girl. Plus, we don't really know what her home life was like. If she was rural poor then her best chance for a healthy future that would bring honor to the family and keep her fed would have been staying at her training school, especially if she was a star pupil. For more insight into this read Jackie Chan's autobiography. He grew up in the Bejing Opera school of Acrobatics. This method of schooling has been part of Chinese culture for hundreds if not thousands of years. It does seem emotionally cruel by our standards but is probably better than starving for some people. I think the Paris Ballet has a similar system.

With China, this is the norm. They take kids away from their parents very early for stuff like this. The parents aren't given a choice. The government just takes them. They are so concerned with how they are viewed by the outside world that is all that matters. Look at the little girl who sang their national anthem during opening ceremonies. The cute little girl you saw was lip syncing. Because the real girl who was singing wasn't cute enough. And look at Yau Ming (the REALLY tall b-ball player that plays here for the Pistons, I think). He is so big he fractures his feet. He's had 4 surgeries because he fractures his feet and legs because of his size. China doesn't care if he's injured they still want him to play. They take gymnasts and make them divers because their body type matches better and we could win gold. Their government doesn't care about it's people. I don't understand why they were even allowed to have the olympics there in the first place. I love the olympics. I watch every night. But a good day in Beijing is being able to see your shadow. They never see the sun because of all the pollution there. It is an honor to have the olympics and they are making a joke of it all, by playing by their own rules. A gymnast is suppose to be 16 to compete (by olympic rules). Look at the size of those girls and tell me their all 16.

I know what you mean- I have been watching it and just told my husband last night that I hope those girls won because they really worked every minute of their lives for it. They generally go live somewhere else from the time they're about 3
Also, they are padding their ages - one little girl looks like she's about 10.
While we're on the olympic subject - although I don't really find Michael Phelps generally attractive, I must say in that speedo and goggles he looks HOT!

In a communist society, the children belong to the state - not the parents. While we all ooh and ahhh at the acomplishments of these young athletes, we should ask ourselves whether or not the ends justify the means. I think not.

I do not watch OlYmpics(no time),but story did not surprize me .I grew up in Russia and
at the age of 6 was put on the ice skating team. After 2 times I was asked to leave because I was not "an OLYMPICS material". Sounds crazy, but in those countries parents are actually doing kids favor(even though it sounds cruel), because that's the only way for them to make it and get out .

I know! I heard that too! In China they are only allowed by law to have one child per family too. The Chinese are rewarded for their athletic success especially Olympic. Those parents didnt want a child, they wanted a meal ticket. That broke my heart too.

It is hard to imagine for us but people who live in extreme poverty need to do what they need to do to survive. I think we can't fully understand the hardships of the poor in other countries and tend to judge them based on our circumstances. It is sad but I bet many of the kids on those teams have similar stories. Take care.

Unfortunately, I think by giving up their daughter for the glory of China, her family most likely end up with a much better life than if she would not have had the talent. This is not how pure Communism works, but it is how China works. I also do not believe the Chinese have the same issues with things like "her childhood...being worthwhile". She will grow up knowing that she did her part as a small cog in the bigger wheel that is China. For some more perspective, I highly suggest the book "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" by Jung Chang. It is a fascinating story of the author, her mother and grandmother, all growing up during completely different political and cultural times in China.

Hi K.,

Thanks for opening this discussion. I watch the Olympics as well, and these girls are amazingly talented. It's very unfortunate that as well as they do, girls are still second class citizens in China. I would be so incredibly proud/happy/supportive of my daughter if she were in the Olympics. However, in China, regardless of future potential, they would sooner sell their little girls than to have them as members of the family. It's hurtful. I recently watched a documentary about life in China. New parents had decided that if the baby was a boy, they'd keep him, but not if it was a girl. They'd sell her and try for the boy. We're all members of the human race, and having the mentality that girls are worthless is simply inhumane. I wish these girls well, and that at some point in their lives, they will feel worthy of life without having to leave their country.

On the upside, it certainly looks like they'll bring home the gold medal in gymnastics.

As an aside: I forget her name, but I hope they "bench" the girl who was flubbing last night. I'm sure she's great, but you could see she couldn't shake it off. With a mindset like that, she can't do well. I say give her some time to shake it off completely, then put her back in.

From what I understand (and I could be wrong):
Urban families are allowed 1 child and rural families are allowed 2. Most people in China live on the equivalent of about $750 a YEAR. After these girls compete in the Olympics they are done and can go home. During their training the family has been well paid, and if they win in the Olympics they are very well paid. The entire family significantly moves up in social standing and economic standing for the rest of their lives.

I'm not saying that it is right - but being that I have never lived in such EXTREME poverty I can't say what I would do. They may think sending their children away for 10-15 years is a worthy sacrifice for a much better life, and anyone one of us might make the same decision if our lives were that bad and we had that chance.

All I can say is that in my current situation I wouldn't hesitate to say "No, my baby's staying with me!"

I thought about this a lot after hearing the same thing during the Olympics and this is what I came up with.

Hi K.,
The gymnasts were fabulous!
As for the young age of training and being taken from parents, this has always been common in communist and socialist countries. Have you read the memoir Mao's Last Dancer? I don't know if there are still areas that are as poor as in this book and other similar books, but if they are, the family considers it a blessing not to have to feed the child and to have this great honor. Women are not highly regarded and girl children are not valued - due to the one child rule (which applies to urband areas only), many girls are abandoned or killed. While it may seem very sad to us as Americans for a young child to be taken away from their parents and undergo rigorous training, this is a different culture with a different view of childhood.

HI K.,

I was affected the same way. Broke my heart. But it's cultural. These same stories were around when Romania was the BIG team to win and Russia as well. As a mom I couldn't bare to be seperated from my child at 3? I'm sure she is greatful that she is now an olympic champion and one hopes she has no regrets. I also wonder how the little girl whose voice was used in the opening cermonies can handle the fact they replaced her because she wasn't cute enough to be seen but talented enough to be heard. Talk about future self image issues. A. B

I've heard of some of the countries doing this. Sometimes, the parent's don't have much of a say in the situation because the government wants that child for the Olympics. I have also heard it is the same for your career choice in Communist Society. In school, in the early years of your schooling, the government will decide what career you will have for the rest of your life. You have no say in the matter.

We are very fortunate to be Americans.