‘He grew up overnight’: widowed mother in China bursts into tears after finding son, 5, up late doing housework to help her out

• A little boy in China is found doing housework by his surprised mother late one night when she came home from work, moving her to tears
• A video his mother took shows the boy scrubbing his trainers in a plastic basin and has melted hearts after she shared the clip on mainland social media

A five-year-old boy in China discovered by his mother staying up late every night to do housework to help her manage after his father died has touched Chinese social media.

A video taken by the boy's mother one night after she returned home from work at about 11pm on March 20, showed the boy squatting on the floor in their bathroom washing a pair of white trainers, with another pair already cleaned in the sink, Hunan TV reported.

The woman, surnamed Su, lives with her son in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region of northwestern China, said her husband had recently died, leaving her as the sole breadwinner.

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Su said she usually finishes work late in the evening and very often her son, whose name was not mentioned in the report, is already in bed when she gets home.

Initially, she said she was angry when she found her son up so late.

© Provided by South China Morning Post The little boy tells his surprised mother in the video that he knows how tired she is and that he wants to make things easier for her by washing his own shoes. Photo: Weibo

"I was angry with him for not going to sleep as he needed to go to school the next day," Su said in the video.

However, to her surprise, the boy approached and hugged her, then said: "Mum, mum, I already went to sleep. But then I suddenly realised my shoes had not been washed."

"I know you are quite tired. So I just washed them by myself," the boy said.

Su said at that moment, she was overcome by emotion and could not help bursting into tears.

"My son is telling me through his actions that he loves me," she explained.

The video has been viewed more than 110 million times on Weibo and more than 4 million times on Douyin, with many people saying how touching they found the scene.

"This boy is so sensitive at such a young age. He is considerate of his mother and offers to help her do housework," said one person.

© Provided by South China Morning Post Many people on mainland social media were overwhelmed by the little boy's love for his mother in the touching video, with one person saying:

"It's sad to watch this video. The boy seems to have grown up overnight," another person commented. "Without the presence of his father, he is the backbone of the home. He knows he should protect and help mum."

"How come he is such a sweet little angel? He is only five. I cried watching this," another person said.

Stories about children helping their parents and growing up fast are popular news items in mainland China.

Earlier this month, a viral video showed a three-year-old girl in southwestern China pointing at her mother's stomach and crying when seeing the scar left by the caesarean section the mother had when giving birth to her. "I didn't know your tummy hurt, mum," the girl said in the video.

Also this month, a video of a tearful reunion in eastern China's Shandong province between a little boy and his younger sister after they were separated for 20 days warmed hearts on mainland social media.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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