In other countries, summer is considered a gift for kids as they have a lot of time to play and do not have to focus on school lessons. 

But the lessons in summer continue, with ones about life skills, sports, music or arts. In Vietnam, many children are unhappy when summer holiday comes because they still have to learn and practice different skills.

On education forums, one can read comments from Vietnamese parents who worry when summer comes, especially parents in big cities, and in particular, poor parents, more so than wealthy parents. 

Vietnamese children who have to prepare for entrance exams to secondary and high schools have busy study schedules. Other students complain about the boring summer as they don’t have spaces to play.

The lack of playgrounds has been a problem for many years. More and more residential quarters have arisen in recent years, but the number of playgrounds has not increased proportionally, because realtors, driven by profits, have built as many apartments as possible, and have "forgotten" to reserve spaces for children’s playgrounds.

As they don’t have places to play, children dedicate themselves to books, attend private tutoring classes, play with smartphones and tablets, and spend time on games and entertainment websites.

As a result, many children face stress and psychological disorders, leading to negative behaviors that are difficult to control.

Some educators have voiced concern about the way students "enjoy" summer. Calling summer the "third semester", they point out that many students have busy timetables as they have to study all the time. 

Parents know that the third semester puts pressure on their children, but they would rather send their children to classes when they are at work than leave them at home.

Educators repeatedly warn of the risks for children who sit and learn all day long at home during summer.

They cite the 2016 Law on Children which clearly stipulates that children, in addition to the right to study at school, also have the right to play, to help them grow physically and mentally.

The 2022 Law on Family Violence Prevention and Control stipulates that it is a type of family violence when parents force members of families to study and work too hard, and that violators will be required to perform community service work.

However, the laws are not strictly observed. 

Meanwhile, there are no playgrounds at culture houses and in residential quarters. As the land bank is limited, land which should have been reserved for children to play is used for business and profit-making purposes.

In fact, many housing developers say they will reserve land for playgrounds. But the playgrounds quickly turn into parking areas, restaurants and beer parlors. Every inch of land is used for business purposes. Because of the lack of a playground, children have to rollerskate on sidewalks.

An architect noted that the lack of playgrounds, schools, and parks is a common problem in large cities, which is attributed to rapid urbanization.

An educator argues that this is not only a problem in large cities, but in rural areas as well. In some localities, local authorities have built spacious cultural houses, but have "forgotten" to build playgrounds for children. Rural children are advised to go to libraries to read books and newspapers, but the libraries only have old newspapers and donated books.

Hai Duong