Summer camps teach children hard work

Chen Zhitong has a break beside a peanut field in Shixia village, Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chen's host family also gave her the task of making the fire for cooking.

"I never did that in my whole life," she said. "It took me an hour to figure it out, but finally I made it," she said.

Chen's mother, who only gave her surname as Pan, said her daughter was "a lazy bug" at home who lounged in bed and did little housework.

"She is the only child in the family so in the past no matter what she asked for, we would try our best to satisfy her," Pan said.

"I wanted her to experience the tough life in a village, let her appreciate and treasure her life at home," said Pan, adding that she found her daughter hadn't changed much as old habits die hard.

However, recent reports of summer camp conditions have stirred controversy among parents.

Long Li (right) washes dishes at a rural family in Shixia village, Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A mother who signed her son to a military-training summer camp in Guangzhou said a coach at the camp forced children to stand in the rain for hours and slap each other in the face for punishment, Nanfang Daily reported on Wednesday.

Cong Zhongxiao, director of the China National Children's Center, said parents should create opportunities for their children during summer holidays to become more independent and improve their problem-solving skills.

"It's important that these activities are not harmful and will not have a negative impact on the children's physical and mental development," she said, adding that parents should pay more attention to providing a healthy lifestyle for their children.

Wang Yun and Zhu Jing in Shenzhen contributed to the story