A few days ago, a Beijing resident, surnamed Li, surrendered to police saying he had killed his 13-year-old daughter following an argument over her obsession with some Republic of Korea movie stars. The tragedy could have been avoided had Li properly interacted with his daughter, says an article in Yanzhao Evening News. Excerpts:

Nothing could be more tragic than a father killing his daughter. The man was apparently unhappy with his daughter for apparently devoting her life to worshiping ROK celebrities at the cost of ignoring her studies. The tragic incident has taught us an important lesson: family education and healthy parenthood are essential for teenagers.

The celebrity worship syndrome evident among teenagers is seen as an irrational social phenomenon. Teenagers who suffer from the syndrome are likely to be misguided without proper parental guidance.

Li had failed to establish proper communication with his daughter and explain to her the hazards of celebrity worship. Instead, he tried to overcome the father-daughter conflict by force, which led to her death.

The 13-year-old's rebellious attitude contrasted with her father's intense love for her. Seeing his daughter, who used to be a good student, indulge in idol worshipping, Li took the wrong step of venting his anger through violence.

The tragedy of Li's family is representative of most households in China and shows that many parents are misguided in their efforts to build the characters of their children, which indeed is a tragedy.

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