Little Emperor Syndrome

Not to be confused with Napoleon complex.

"Little Emperors" redirects here. For the 1951 novel, see The Little Emperors.

"Little Emperors" is a name that refers to only children in the People's Republic of China after the one-child policy was implemented. Attributed most frequently to increased spending power within the family unit and the parents' desire for their child to experience the benefits they were denied, the syndrome results from the children's sole command of the attention of their parents and grandparents. Described as a problem "so acute that it's changing how society functions, the Little Emperor effect has grown beyond a side effect that "the architects of China's one-child policy could never have foreseen" into a "behavioral time-bomb."

The Little Emperor effect is primarily an urban phenomenon. The one-child policy is not as rigorously enforced in the countryside as in the urban communities, and given the value of labor, only children are not prevalent within rural communities. Economic development has not had as large an impact outside of urban centers.

Socio-economic implications

China's economic growth has tremendously elevated the annual per capita income of urban areas as women have become increasingly represented in the workforce, frequently resulting in families with two sources of income. This greatly improved purchasing power coupled with excessive pampering of only children is the cause of increased spending on children. From toys to clothes, parents shower their child in material goods and give in to every demand; it is not uncommon for children to be the "best-dressed members of their families." Recently, it has become common for nearly half a family's income to be spent on the child. This effect has become considerable enough to be noticed on a global scale: marketing groups attribute a near doubling of platinum jewelry sales in China to "China's 'spoiled brat' generation."

Little Emperors also bear the burden of heavy expectations. Parents who feel they lost their chance in the Cultural Revolution ("compensation syndrome") put immense pressure on these children to succeed and compete academically. From an early age parents push their only child to educational extremes as they cater to their whims; "though many of these precocious kids can recite the English alphabet or read newspapers in traditional Chinese characters by the time they're 10, their parents often still perform basic tasks for them: fixing their hair, tying their shoes, wiping their bottoms." Boarding school, private English lessons, music lessons and an additional range of extracurricular activities are the normal fare though after tough competition only two percent of the Little Emperors will be able to study at a university.

One factor frequently associated with the Little Emperor effect, the four-two-one family structure refers to the collapse of the traditionally large Chinese family into four grandparents and two parents doting on one child. Beyond the obvious further funneling of resources towards the whims and potential of the only child, this four-two-one reconfiguration of the familial structure has distinct ramifications for Chinese society. The Little Emperors of the one-child policy have warped the traditional family beyond recognition; "in the past, the power in a household devolved from the father," who ruled over a multitude of offspring. Now the household structures itself entirely around the one child. This shift from earlier structures that supported the culture of filial piety has caused much concern; "traditionally, a great number of children, particularly sons, was seen as proof of the family's standing and it guaranteed the continuity of ancestor-worshipping customs." The most salient issue stems from the worry about who will look after the elderly. Aside from a potentially radical shift in cultural norms concerning the treatment of the elderly, this new family structure poses a purely demographic problem: "the composition of the dependent population is shifting away from children toward elderly population."

Psychological implications

The combination of the immense pressure to excel within their education and the extreme pampering is reported to have resulted in a stunting of social and emotional growth. The perceived maladjustment of the Little Emperors is an exaggerated subject within the media; "the government has [tried] to cope with the Little Emperor problem through frequent cautionary stories in the press." These stories depict children hanging themselves after being denied sweets, and cases of matricide in retribution for a scolding or late dinner. The discussion of Little Emperors has saturated public discussion concerning the generation of the one-child policy within Chinese and international media.

However, psychological studies do not support this view, or at best, offered mixed results. Results from earlier studies are inconsistent with more recent studies that suggest there are no reliable differences between only children and those with siblings.