‘Be careful or I’ll kill your family’: China mini-dramas featuring kids raise concerns

Miniseries in China starring children have sparked controversy for their content becoming “adultified,” as critics say the trend will harm the psychological health of young actors.One of the controversial dramas depicts a five-year-old girl helping her father with stock investments, resulting in two billion yuan (US$290 million) in profits in a short time, the China-youth-daily" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="45388" data-entity-type="organization">China Youth Daily reported.“This share’s price will rise to its trading limit in an hour. I would like to invest all my money, plus borrow 100 times the fund,” the little actress is filmed saying in the series.One of the controversial series depicts intimate relations between a child actor and an adult. Photo: ettodayThe drama, the name of which was not disclosed, has been watched by 290,000 viewers on a major platform, according to the report.In another series, a nine-year-old boy is dressed like an adult.His hair is permed and curled, and he wears a blue plaid shirt. As required by the script and demonstrated by the director, the boy’s eyes instantly ‘light up’, and his mouth waters when seeing five ‘long-legged beauties’ in their twenties who are playing his fiancées.Child actors, such as the girl above, are often cast in adult roles. Photo: ettodayThe name of the second series was also not revealed in the report.