A new phrase, "pre-made children," has gone viral on Chinese social media. It describes children whose parents push them to study ahead during the summer break, instead of letting them rest or play, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The term draws on the idea of "pre-made meals," which are factory-processed frozen foods that only need reheating. In China, these ready meals have a poor reputation. Many people believe only freshly cooked food is truly healthy. The South China Morning Post noted that this negative image is what gives the new term its sting.
Applied to children, the phrase refers to youngsters who are made to learn material from the upcoming school term while they are still on holiday, well before their teachers even begin the lessons.
The South China Morning Post shared the example of a mother in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Her son, who is in Primary Four, was asked to study Chinese poems, recite English vocabulary and attend online maths classes right through the summer. His teachers had not yet taught any of this material.
The mother, identified only by her surname, Li, said she and her husband tutor their son every day after work. She admitted this leaves them tired. But she said she still feels anxious whenever she is not sure her son is studying ahead of schedule.
The trend reflects a wider pattern among Chinese parents, who often see the summer break less as a time to relax and more as a chance to get ahead academically. For many children, this has turned the holidays into an extension of the school year, minus the classroom.
The term "pre-made children" has now become a talking point online, with social media users using it to question whether such intense scheduling is fair to young children, or whether it simply adds to the pressure they already face at school.
As per SCMP, the trend has even led some training schools to offer "high school to university transition summer programmes," with some charging as much as 400,000 yuan (US$60,000) per session.
This phenomenon is seen as a latest development in jiwa, or "chicken-blood parenting," which describes the intense pressure parents exert on their children to ensure their competitiveness among peers.
One netizen commented on the trend as being "juan," referring to the neijuan phenomenon, or involution, denoting excessive competition.
"If this continues, I wonder if there will be transition programmes between university and work, and retirement and death?" quipped another.
However, some support such programmes, with one advocate stating: "University is quite different from secondary school. It doesn't hurt to adapt to this new environment with such programmes."
Another commenter echoed this sentiment, saying: "I found such programmes beneficial. I attended one that provided guidance on how to plan university life according to future pathways and what steps to take if I wish to enter the workforce or pursue further studies after university."
