Millions of Chinese Children Left Behind by Migrant Worker Parents

The Heat

One fifth of the children in China more than 61 million kids– growing up mostly without the company of their parents. Most of them live in poor, rural communities with grandparents,  many of whom struggle with health problems brought on by age and a lifetime of farm work. The children’s parents are among 250 million migrant workers—trying to improve their families’ standard of living by taking city jobs.  China’s strict residency policy, or hukou system, ties a person to his or her place of birth. It also makes social services such as education, health care and housing very hard to secure in cities for China’s rural residents. This is one of the key reasons that those parents decide to leave these children in their hometown.
Pia Macrae, former CEO of Tropical Health & ED. Trust joins Anchor Anand Naidoo and shares her take on the issue.

Children Left Behind in China

Pia Macrae, former CEO of Tropical Health & ED. Trust joins Anchor Anand Naidoo and shares her take on the issue.

While lots of  “left-behind” children struggle to cope when their parents leave home, many children who follow their parents to big cities can also feel out of place. Denied access to regular schools, they are often marginalized and live in poor conditions. But one charity group in Beijing is using classical music to help the children to adjust the rhythm of life in big city. For more on this issue, CCTV’s Han Peng reports.

How Classical Music Help Migrant Workers Children Adapt Society

While lots of "left-behind" children struggle to cope when their parents leave home, many children who follow their parents to big cities can also feel out of place. Denied access to regular schools, they are often marginalized and live in poor conditions. But one charity group in Beijing is using classical music to help the children to adjust the rhythm of life in big city. For more on this issue, CCTV's Han Peng reports.