Pillow fight your way to lower stress levels
The one child policy in China seems to be the root cause of a growing stress phenomenon: an only-child has the pressure of two parents and two sets of grandparents, all of whom are showering the child with attention, financial support, motivation and pressure to succeed.
The only child becomes the conduit of all the hopes and dreams of the family, almost the raison d'être is the pressure to succeed. Moreover, Chinese people are very conscious about not loosing face amongst peers.
Hence, the only child feels the pressure to deliver the high expectations of their family so as not to deceive them. In addition, the preference for a boy over a girl implies that girls have additional pressure to prove that they can not only achieve as well as the boys in their career path, but also, be committed to take the responsibility of looking after their parents when they get old.
In the race to contribute to China's economic growth, Chinese students are increasingly feeling the pressure from an early age to succeed in their academic performance. They are more and more ambitious, competitive and conscious about the need to obtain higher qualifications and skills as well as well-paid jobs.
Some brands are aware of this growing phenomenon and are trying to create wellness campaigns.
For instance, last April in China, Adidas installed punching bags as part of a communication campaign on subway platforms to help Chinese subway commuters to release their frustrations through sports so that they can be more relaxed in their daily life.
Another innovative event theme in Shanghai was a pillow fight event organised on Christmas Eve in Mao Livehouse Club. It was a soft (no extreme violence allowed) approach for the guests to release pressure after a long day at work. The event managed to gather a big crowd of white-collar workers as well as young adults, offering, in addition to a pillow fight, a mixed entertainment program, consisting of a live rock band concert and dancing performance.