Chinese mother’s brutal and rigorous physical training regimen for her infant son draws criticism

Duan often lets his daughters take their brother to play in a river when it rains, without any protection measures.

“Children need to be in touch with nature, and feeling the flow of water is tactile training,” he said.

In one video, Duan places his baby on a climbing net on the beach. He claims that this training of grasping the net can strengthen the baby’s courage and finger grip strength.

In another video, he places his son on the pedal of a piece of exercise equipment and shakes it rapidly, claiming that this stimulates the baby’s balance skills.

Duan also places his son on a tree, using one hand to protect him while filming with the other. He claims that climbing trees develops a baby’s sense of security by trusting in his father’s protection.

In one clip, he placed his son on a skateboard, saying it stimulates the child’s brain.

“My son has been training on skateboard since he was 30 days old, and he hasn’t been injured once so far, and he won’t be injured in the future,” Duan said.

The father’s methods have sparked much discussion online.

An online observer supported Duan’s methods: “This father creatively uses common equipment around him to train his children, which is very clever.” »

Duan’s profile states that he provides psychological counseling and is a children’s fitness trainer.

In China, children’s fitness trainers can develop children’s specialized mental, social and sports abilities. The certification applies to teaching children ages 3 to 16.

But Duan has not provided any certificates proving his professionalism, leading many people to question his qualifications to do so.

“His training methods have no scientific basis and always put children in dangerous situations,” wrote one online observer on Douyin.

“Duan uses exaggerated training methods just to get attention and gain online traffic,” said another.

“He is neither a qualified coach nor a good father,” said a third.

Duan was banned from posting on Douyin due to multiple complaints.

Meanwhile, another major parenting influencer from eastern China’s Shandong province, known as “Qian Yue’s aunt,” threw a five-month-old child into the air and then claimed it was “sensory integration” training to help improve the baby’s attention.

Wang Qiongli, a pediatrician at Shenzhen Xiehe Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in southern China, described the man’s methods.

“A seven-month-old baby is very fragile and cannot be shaken vigorously on sports equipment, which could lead to various consequences such as joint dislocation, cervical spine injury, intestinal obstruction and concussion.

“Infants lack awareness of their own protection. Viral online training methods are neither scientific nor safe,” Wang told the Post.