In my opinion, China's "Double Reduction" Policy (“双减”政策) aimed at easing (减轻) education-related pressure on parents and children is effective. Now take my home as an example to show how it works.
"Dad! Get up! You promised to take us to the zoo today!" my two daughters shouted together one recent Saturday morning. The clock had just struck seven, but our house had already gotten noisier than the monkeys in the zoo!
For families with children, weekends have become very different. In the past, my wife and I could at least sleep in (睡懒觉). Then at 9 o'clock, we had to wake up the kids. After throwing them into a tutoring class (辅导班), we could enjoy several hours to ourselves. But now, these classes are gone altogether. Kids, of course, are happy about this. Every Tuesday or Wednesday evening, my girls would ask me, "Where are we going to spend this coming Saturday?"
Luckily, there are still some classes for them to attend. On Sundays, my girls go to learn ballet and chess. They really enjoy their time there. My elder daughter is old enough to read quietly on her own. On lucky days, we can get her to read together with her sister. Still, a quiet "competition" is on. My girls sometimes talk about how their classmates have spent an exciting weekend. It's their way of complaining about my laziness.
Weekends are more tiring now for parents, but I think they are good for kids. After all, childhood should be more than just studying school subjects. It should be more colorful.
