Are there “kids’ slaves” around you?

Nowadays in China, with the development of the society, many new words pop up. After 房奴 (fáng nú), which means "house slaves", comes another similar word "孩奴 (hái nú)". The new word represents a group of people in China, mostly parents, who spare no effort to earn money for their children at the expense of their own values and lives. The emergence of "孩奴 (hái nú)", to some extent, is a result of the growing cost of raising a child. 

随着中国社会的发展，新词层出不穷。继“房奴（fáng nú）”之后，又出现了一个新词“孩奴（hái nú）”。“孩奴”是指那些竭尽全力只为孩子打拼而放弃自我价值及生活的人，其中大部分是父母。“孩奴”的出现在某一种程度上是因为养育成本的提高。

奴(nú) means "slave" in English. When we put another word before it, the word means "a slave for …" The word first came as the name of a hot Chinese TV drama called 《孩奴》, which was led by actors Sha Yi, Hu Ke, Wang Yinan, etc. This TV drama depicts the lives of four mothers. The drama shows that for the future of their kids, parents would do everything to survive the real world despite bitterness, anger, helplessness, etc. This drama can also serve as a good resource for foreigners to learn Chinese.

“奴”的英文意思为“slave”。在“奴”前面加上某个词之后，则表示“…..的奴隶”。“孩奴”一词来源于由沙溢、胡可和王一楠主演的热播电视剧《孩奴》。该剧主要讲述四个母亲为了孩子的未来，不顾痛苦、愤怒和无奈的生活，竭力与现实生活作斗争。

So, what is the life of a 孩奴 like in China? No matter what they buy, they always choose the most expensive one. For example, they might even buy a baby wear at a price of several hundred of RMB. Many parents in China, especially mothers, excessively fuss over their children. And it is grandparents who spoil their grandchildren most. Often you can see an old man or woman stand on a bus, wearing a schoolbag on their back with a little child sitting on the seat. It is crazy that many parents have arranged the best school for their children before they are born, they even might buy an expensive house near the school in order to create a good learning environment for the potential academic talents.  

那么，“孩奴”的生活状态到底是怎样的呢？他们无论买什么，都是买最贵的。他们甚至会花好几百元买一件婴儿装。中国大部分家长，尤其是母亲，对孩子都过度关心。家里老人则更是对孩子溺爱有加。在车上，你经常能看到老人背着书包站着，而小孩则坐在座位上。甚至有些父母在孩子出生之前就为他安排了最好的学校。为了让孩子有一个好的学习环境，他们甚至会抢购学区房。

In China, most of the "kids' slaves" are the post 1980s because of the special era they were born in China. This group of young people face great pressure of finding jobs, getting married, buying houses and now the pressure of raising their kids.

在中国，大部分孩奴都是80后，这是由他们生活的特殊年代所决定的。这些80后面临着就业、结婚、买房以及养育孩子等重重压力。

Translated from: ichineselearning.com