Parents are the best teachers for children. What to do when parents neglect their duties? The Family Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, which will come into effect on January 1, 2022, clarifies the system of family education orders to strengthen the family education of underage children by parents and guardians. A reporter from the Legal Daily learned that since the implementation of the family education order system, the Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court in Hubei Province and its three grassroots courts in Xiantao, Qianjiang, and Tianmen have conscientiously implemented the Family Education Promotion Law and protected the healthy growth of minors in accordance with the law. Family education is essential. In March 2024, the People's Court of Qianjiang City issued the first family education order related to criminal cases. This is an intentional injury case that occurred between minors. 16-year-old Xiao Li and 17-year-old Xiao Yu had a conflict due to a change in the username of a certain app, and then gathered friends to beat Xiao Yu, causing injuries to his head, back, and other areas. According to judicial appraisal, Xiaoyu is classified as Level 2 minor injury. Zhao Ying, the chief judge of the Criminal Trial Division of Qianjiang City Court, is the presiding judge of this case. Zhao Ying found that Xiao Li had a low level of education, acted impulsively, and had a weak sense of the rule of law. His parents were busy with their livelihoods and lacked care and discipline for Xiao Li, which led to him entering society too early, developing bad habits, and repeatedly disrupting social order. In just four months, he was administratively punished three times by the public security organs. After the verdict, Zhao Ying issued a family education order to Xiao Li's parents and provided them with educational guidance, ordering them to fulfill their guardianship responsibilities and assume the main responsibility for family education. After receiving the family education order, Xiao Li's parents strengthened their supervision and education of him. Xiao Li has now returned to campus and started a new life. Having worked in judicial work for many years, Zhao Ying has summarized a pattern that juvenile delinquency is often related to family, either due to parental divorce or being busy with work and neglecting to discipline their children. In the past, when we tried juvenile cases, we usually emphasized the importance of family education to parents during or after the trial, but the effect was limited. Now, through the form of family education, parents are encouraged to take it seriously psychologically and understand that they have the obligation to educate their children, which is not an optional thing. ”Zhao Ying said. Not all cases involving minors will issue family education orders. Some defendants committed crimes when they were minors and were already adults at the time of trial, so it is not appropriate to issue a family education order. ”Zhao Ying is also a mother of two children. In her opinion, the main responsibility of family education lies with parents, and family education orders only play an auxiliary role. If parents are unwilling to take on the responsibility of family education from the bottom of their hearts, issuing more family education orders will have limited effect, "Zhao Ying admitted. How to urge the implementation of family education responsibilities and enable guardians to fulfill family education orders and fulfill their main responsibilities in family education? Chen Dan, the head of Longhushan People's Court in Xiantao City, has come up with many solutions. Longhua Mountain Court is the only family trial court in Xiantao City, responsible for handling family cases such as marriage, support, upbringing, inheritance, etc. within the urban area. In a custody dispute case, the Longhua Mountain Court found during mediation that the man had not paid custody in a timely manner according to the custody agreement, and the woman did not allow the man to visit the child. The judge criticized and educated both parties. After successfully mediating the dispute, the Longhua Mountain Court issued a family education order, ordering both parties to pay attention to the child's psychological condition and actively guide the child's healthy growth and comprehensive development. We also require them to handwrite a family education commitment letter on the spot, promising to conscientiously fulfill their regulatory responsibilities and jointly safeguard the healthy growth of children. "Chen Dan told reporters that the commitment letter does not have a fixed or unified format, mainly to urge the obligor to comply with the requirements set forth in the family education order. In her opinion, writing a commitment letter by hand can make guardians feel respected and pay more attention to family education, thus better fulfilling their main responsibility for family education. Not only that, Longhua Mountain Court will also regularly organize follow-up visits. "Especially at some critical moments, such as Children's Day on June 1 and the eve of winter and summer vacations, we will organize a return visit, further strengthen education guidance according to the return visit, and urge guardians to better perform their regulatory responsibilities," said Chen Dan. In 2024, Longhua Mountain Court issued more than 70 orders related to the personal safety protection of minors, family education guidance orders, and reminder cards for caring for minors, strengthening the protection of underage children in divorce cases, and regularly carrying out post judgment tracking, investigation follow-up, and guidance work. Based on our follow-up visits, guardians have generally fulfilled their regulatory responsibilities in accordance with the requirements of the family education order. ”Chen Dan said. Collaborative guidance on family education: "The relationship between parents and children does not disappear due to divorce, and you still have the obligation and right to raise, educate, and protect your children after divorce..." Recently, in a dispute over child support fees for minors, Luo Wei, the head of the Ganyi People's Court of Tianmen City People's Court, comprehensively considered the economic ability of both parents, the actual needs of the child, and the situation of child support, and facilitated the parties to reach a mediation agreement. After the trial, Luo Wei explained the law and urged both parties to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of children in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Promotion of Family Education. It is reported that Ganyi Court focuses on creating a model case dispute resolution mechanism for cases involving special groups such as women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities based on the characteristics of cases in its jurisdiction. In particular, in terms of the protection of the rights and interests of minors, we should follow the time nodes and actively carry out activities such as promoting the rule of law in schools, communities and villages relying on the National Safety Education Day, the Children's Day of June 1 and other festivals. In recent years, the two levels of courts in Hanjiang have conscientiously implemented the Law on the Promotion of Family Education, fully played the role of juvenile trial in family affairs, carefully tried cases and organized legal publicity, guided the whole society to pay attention to family education and family style, promoted family happiness and harmony, and strived to promote the healthy growth of minors. ”Zhao Xiangxiang, the head of the first civil trial court of Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court, told reporters. It is reported that Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court adheres to the principle of being most beneficial to minors, constantly explores the reform of family juvenile trial methods, innovates and improves work mechanisms, carries out family education guidance work in accordance with the law, and actively guides parents to establish a legal awareness of fulfilling family education responsibilities and "taking care of children in accordance with the law". Some parents have resistance towards family education orders, believing it to be a negative evaluation of them. In response to this situation, we guide grassroots courts to guide parents to fulfill their family education responsibilities through flexible means such as issuing reminder cards for caring for minors. ”Zhao Xiangxiang said. In Zhao Xiangxiang's view, promoting family education is not solely the responsibility of the court. The two levels of courts in Hanjiang will further strengthen cooperation and collaboration with functional departments and organizations such as public security, procuratorial, education, and women's federations, promote the improvement of the linkage mechanism of family education guidance work with 'family responsibility, school guidance, government promotion, and social collaboration', and build a comprehensive protection pattern of the rule of law to safeguard the healthy growth of minors, "she said. (New Society)