Editor's note: The following was translated and edited from an article that appeared on the Chinese news portal 163.com. It explains how the recent buzzphrase "crossing the street, Chinese style"—which brought to light many instances of chaotic pedestrian crossing—has attracted attention to another chaotic "Chinese" phenomenon: "picking up the kids: Chinese style". The article highlights the concerns of many Chinese parents who insist on accompanying their children to and from school every day, often leading to crowded streets and dangerous traffic.

Like many foreigners accustomed to a more orderly flow of traffic, Chinese internet users have become increasingly vocal about the dangers of the "Chinese style" of crossing the street ("中国式过马路"), namely, crossing regardless of whether the light is green or red and paying closer attention to the behavior of other pedestrians than to the pedestrian lights or oncoming traffic. One intersection in Chongqing made national news after netizens reported that the traffic lights only stayed red for seven seconds while the green lights stayed on for 75 seconds. Ratios like this practically goad impatient drivers into breaking the law, turning the intersection into a virtual free-for-all. Though chaotic traffic is by no means a new phenomenon in China, examples like this are suddenly receiving more and more attention, leading to increased discussion on how to fix the issue.

More recently, however, Chinese media have used the "Chinese-style" term to draw attention to a more unlikely topic: parents dropping off/picking up their children at school. Though seemingly innocuous, the task of driving one's children to school in the morning and waiting for them outside the school in the afternoon has turned into a nerve-wracking ordeal for many parents, leading the media to dub the phenomenon: "picking up the kids, Chinese style".

The road to school is paved with bad intentions

Chinese parents brave heavy crowds and heavier traffic daily to accompany their children to and from school, but despite the inconvenience, many simply refuse to consider the alternative: allowing their children to walk to school alone. Fuzhou mother Ms. Zhang told reporters: "We often see news about kids being abducted, so we just feel more at ease picking and dropping the child off ourselves." Zhang also added that the time spent taking her child to and from school is the best time they get to communicate.

As Fuzhou elementary school grandparent Li Yibo explained, another problem is that there are so many people and cars and many of them disobey traffic laws. Children don't know any better, so they could easily get into an accident if they aren't careful.  Li says he's going to continue to take his grandchild to school for at least another five years.

Another mother, Ms. Wu, studied for her driver's test all throughout her summer vacation, braving the scorching sun every day at the driving school, all so she could personally drive her son to school in the fall.

Chinese netizen comments [from a similar story on QQ.com]:

Netizen wangkailing:
I remember when the road from school used to be like an unruly flock of sparrows…. It's hard for me to imagine; if you threw away that experience of walking home from school, what would there be left of childhood? Suddenly I feel sorry for all these kids today…. Packed up like suitcases, stuffed in a cage and sent straight home. That warm, friendly, interesting road home from school is just, poof, gone…. No happiness for the kids, more work for the parents, more traffic on the roads.

Netizen dongye:
I think back to 20-30 years ago when kids wore their house keys around their necks, walking in a line back home from school. But then again, back then there was no such thing as a "key school" or a "non-key school"; there was just, "school".

Netizen dahai:
Even though kids know the way back from school, youngsters have low self-control; it's easy for them to goof off and waste their education.

Netizen lele:
It's no use. I take my kids to school in a rush every day. There are three or four traffic lights on the way. How else am I supposed to make sure my kids cross the road safely? My kids are safety conscious, but crazy drivers aren't! So how can I even think about not taking them myself!

Netizen sijisuishou:
I was born in the 80's. When I was little I got dropped off at school maybe two or three times, and after that I was all on my own. Kids today are getting more and more spoiled!
 

Source: 163.com and qq.com
 

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Keywords: crossing the street Chinese style picking up kids at school Chinese style dropping kids off at school Chinese style China traffic safety