Most people will agree that nap time is one of the best things about kindergarten – which is why a Chinese primary school was severely criticized for trying to replace afternoon naps with meditation. The pilot meditation program at Shishan Shuben Primary School, in China’s Guangdong Province, ran for only two days before it was scrapped following a backlash. Parents apparently hated the idea, and the media reacted negatively to it as well.

According to news reports, notices were sent to parents before the new semester, informing them that the school was going to do away with mid-day naps and introduce guided meditation instead. When school started, the students were each given a piece of newspaper to sit on. They were then made to watch tutorial videos on how to meditate, featuring the school’s headmaster, Mr. Wu. Unfortunately, Wu’s directions did not have the intended effect – most of the students slept anyway. “He just keeps talking all the time and some of them have been falling asleep,” one little kid said.

It appears that Principal Wu’s intentions were good, though. He’s been practising meditation for the past 20 years, and claims that it’s very effective for resting. He also thought the kids were uncomfortable and unsafe on the metal-framed beds in the school’s poorly ventilated dormitories, so he decided to switch to meditation instead. Unfortunately, not many parents agreed with his idea. Lots of them called in to complain, while social media users wrote that the program was too “cultish”.

“The school can promote this new way of rest but they can’t force children to do it, and actually people who practice sitting meditation study Buddhism and Taoism,” a user wrote.

“Sitting for naps is good, but perhaps children can’t practice it very well,” another said.

Source: CCTV