Should schools give children medicine without parental permission?
未经家长允许，学校能给孩子吃药吗？
That's the question that has been reverberating in parental circles across China after news emerged that a string of kindergartens were allegedly dispensing antiviral drugs without parents' consent.
这个问题最近在中国的家长圈子里激起层层涟漪，导火索是中国多所幼儿园被指在未获得家长允许的情况下向儿童分发抗病毒药物。
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that four kindergarten programs--two in Xian in western Shaanxi province, one in central Hubei and another in northeastern Jilin--have been shut due to the problem, with some parents saying their children were suffering from leg pains, nosebleeds and genital inflammation after taking the medicine.
据中国官方媒体新华社报道，四所幼儿园因相关问题被关闭，其中两所位于中国西部 西省西安市、一所位于华中的湖北省，还有一所在东北的吉林省，一些家长说，他们的孩子在服药后出现腿痛、流鼻血、生殖器肿胀等症状。
Authorities are investigating the matter, and three people in Jilin have been detained in connection with the allegations, Xinhua said. Five others from schools in Xian have also been detained, Xinhua said.
新华社说，有关当局正在调查此事，吉林已有三人被拘捕。新华社说，西安幼儿园也有五人被拘捕。
The issue came to light Friday, after one parent in Xian found her daughter had brought home a prescription flu pill. Other cases came to light as the news spread.
这起事件在上周五曝光，当时西安一名家长发现女儿将一片处方感冒药带回了家。随着消息扩散，其他事例也被曝光。
Xinhua says that money appears to be a motivating factor. Some parents believe the schools were trying to ward off sickness to ensure students didn't take sick days, it said. Many private kindergartens and preschools in China charge by the number of days students attend school, so fewer sick days equals more money for the teachers.
新华社报道说，驱使幼儿园这样做的原因似乎是金钱。报道称，一些家长认为，幼儿园的目的是防止孩子生病缺勤。中国许多幼儿园都是按孩子入园的天数收费，因此减少病假缺勤天数就意味着教师能有更多收入。
Others have cited the fact that there is no law prohibiting the practice as a contributing factor.
还有人认为，没有法律明文禁止这种行为也是造成这一结果的因素之一。
'Although their actions were wrong, there is no ban based on law. In other words, it's not illegal for an immoral kindergarten to give children unauthorized medications,' Li Jing, the deputy head of Beijing's private Sunny High Scope Kindergarten told the China Daily.
北京私立的阳光高瞻国际幼儿园教师李静对《中国日报》说，虽然他们的行为不对，但法律没有明文禁止；换句话说，不道德的幼儿园未经允许就给孩子吃药并不违法。
The drugs given to students are cheap, just a few cents per pill, said Justin Wang, a partner and director in the Shanghai office of consultancy L.E.K. Consulting LLC, and economic incentives were likely high enough to convince teachers to take the risk.
咨询公司L.E.K. Consulting LLC上海办事处合伙人兼主管王景烨(Justin Wang)说，幼儿园给孩子吃的药很便宜，一片才几分钱，而经济刺激可能足够高，让老师愿意冒这个险。
Parents of school-age children say schools in China typically require parental consent before administering medication. However, health practices in China's education system vary drastically from the U.S. Some Chinese schools get parental consent to conduct health checks that involve procedures like blood and urine tests; school health checks in the U.S. are often limited to screenings for eyesight, lice and scoliosis.
学龄儿童的家长说，学校在组织用药前通常会征求家长同意。但中国教育系统的卫生保健做法与美国迥异。一些中国学校会在征得家长同意后进行涉及血液和尿液检测的体检，而美国的学校体检通常仅限于视力、虱子和脊柱侧弯的筛查。
Many parents in China say schools frequently inform them when their children are sick and before performing health checks. Still, schools usually provide only scant information, said Elaine Wang, a mother of two children in local Beijing schools.
很多中国家长说，在孩子生病时和接受体检前，学校经常会通知他们。有两个孩子在北京当地上学的Elaine Wang说，但学校通常只提供有限的信息。
'They inform you that there will be a health screening, but they don't say what happens during those screenings,' Ms. Wang said.
Wang说，他们会通知你孩子需要体检，但不会告诉你体检过程中具体会发生什么。
