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.
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.
A new phrase, “pre-made children”, has gone viral in China, referring to children who spend their summer holidays studying material from the next school term instead of relaxing or playing.
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. 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.”
