With both parents working full time in many Hong Kong families, the question arises of who should take care of the children's upbringing and provide the guidance they need.
I recently observed a remarkable scene in Mid-Levels: a primary school child was making her regal process home from school. Instead of being escorted by a parent, two helpers were put to the task. One woman, smaller than the hefty child, was burdened with a backpack that appeared full of heavy books.
She held up a bottled drink, which the girl drank through a long straw. A second held an umbrella, lest the princess be sullied by rays from the sun. The scene was rather amusing. But on reflection, we should pity that child for being so spoiled.
If that child has become accustomed to being treated as the centre of the universe, her teachers must be having a hard time. What's more, when she later enters the workforce, she will come up against the harsh fact that her job has not been arranged solely for her entertainment. If she were not spoiled so grossly at an early age, she might find it easier to fit into society later.
Some foreign domestic helpers are highly trained nannies. But many more have been recruited as basic housemaids and don't have the training needed to be an effective nanny to a young child.
They generally have no authority over the child. They are obliged to act as subservient handmaidens, and this spoils the child. Badly behaved primary school children can be seen regularly on our streets and public transport, bossing around the poor helper.