Chinese people tend to consider children as their exclusive property - other people have no say over the way they treat their children. However, a father from Zhuhai and a mother from Huangshan have suffered public attacks for the way they take care of their children.

Women in a bath house frowned at the mother taking her five-year-old boy there for a bath. The mother provoked a heated discussion as someone took a picture of her naked back and posted it online. The father was dragged into the center of a media storm with a video titled 'abuse of a little girl' showing his excessive intimacy towards his daughter being posted on the internet.

The mother offends the right of other women in the bath house. Moreover, these two parents might also bring harm to their children as their behaviour may distort their children's awareness of gender identity and social morals.

With the development of social civilization and the public's deepening understanding of the law, people will not only show concern over violence against children but also pay attention to conduct offending social morals and conduct impeding children's psychological development. Dialogue and cooperation between the public and the parents involved are necessary in terms of defining the rights of children. Images from covertly made videos or photos might expose abuse of children, but the impact of secret photography of the children involved cannot be ignored. Thus, it is better to seek supervision from a third party which has power to enforce laws.

This article was edited and translated from 《自家的孩子也不能当“私产”》, author: Shi Ping, source: Jiefang Daily