As my regular readers know, I — Master Chi — lived in North America for many years, and through business, my social circle has long included Westerners and well-established overseas Chinese families abroad.
Over the years, friends who emigrated at different points in life are now spread across every industry.
So today, I want to give a wake-up call to all the parents who still think: “My kid isn’t doing well in school here — let’s just send them abroad to pick up a degree.”
1
If your child is already an average student and won’t listen to you even when you try to manage their phone use, then think very carefully before sending them to North America.
Because in North America — whether the US or Canada — beyond campus bullying, drugs are quite literally everywhere you look.
The most foolish mistake many parents make is thinking: my child just isn’t good at studying, so if I change their environment by sending them abroad, they’ll turn things around.
What they don’t realize is that a child with poor self-discipline will only get worse in a corrupting environment.
Of course, if your child is genuinely capable of placing into a QS top-100 or top-50 institution, then by all means pursue it — the elite schools are still worth the effort.
2
When I was still living in North America, prominent figures back in China would often ask me to look after their children over there.
My answer was always the same: Brother/Sister, the most I can do is check in occasionally — I simply cannot be responsible for discipline, because once a kid picks up bad habits, they go downhill fast.
And that’s exactly how it plays out. Parents always picture studying abroad as: child goes off, finishes a bachelor’s or master’s, then starts working. Simple.
But the unexpected variables in between are enormous.
Losing interest in school, skipping classes, dropping out — those are actually the milder outcomes. Many children from households without strict discipline develop genuinely destructive habits. Drugs and gambling together aren’t uncommon, and that’s before we even get into other vices.
And the child knows perfectly well that the parents won’t completely cut them off — so they use “studying abroad” as cover to keep draining the family financially.
3
To put it plainly: a child who studies well and lives with self-discipline will be fine wherever they go — just watch their social circle.
But a child who struggles academically and lacks self-discipline? Sending them abroad to study is, in all likelihood, just leaving them completely unsupervised.
What should you do? I’d advise against North America — the destabilizing factors there can escalate to genuinely unmanageable levels.
Instead, consider places like Australia, Japan, or Germany — go to acquire a specific, concrete vocational skill. The return on investment is often far better.