作者：杨长兵

8月15日，贵州黔东南丹寨发生了一幕让人揪心的事情。天还没亮，一个孩子不知什么时候醒来，发现妈妈不在身边，竟然爬到了窗台附近，最后被卡在窗户栏杆上，哇哇大哭。家里当时没有其他人，幸亏一名男子及时发现，徒手爬上防盗网，把孩子稳稳托住，一直坚持到警察赶来，孩子才最终脱险。这位见义勇为的好心人，当然值得感谢。但在庆幸孩子平安的同时，我觉得我们还应该问一句：为什么这样的危险会发生？后来了解到，孩子的妈妈是一名单亲母亲。为了挣钱养家，她天还没亮就出门接单，没想到孩子醒来之后找不到妈妈，自己爬到了窗台上。看到这里，很多人的第一反应可能是：“妈妈怎么能把这么小的孩子一个人留在家里？”这句话不能说完全没有道理。孩子的安全当然需要成年人负责。但如果我们只停留在责备母亲，就很容易忽略另一个更加现实的问题：一个独自抚养孩子、又必须靠劳动维持家庭生活的母亲，到底还能怎么办？她不出去工作，家里的房租、吃饭、奶粉、衣服和各种生活开支怎么办？她出去工作，孩子又由谁照顾？如果一个社会要求一名单亲母亲既必须全职挣钱养家，又必须全天候照顾孩子，同时还没有足够的托育服务、家庭支持和社会保障，那么所谓的“选择”，其实很可能根本不是选择。这也是为什么，一个社会的文明程度，不能只看GDP有多高，也不能只看经济总量排在世界第几。真正值得我们关注的是：当一个普通人跌到生活的最低处时，社会有没有一张能够接住他的安全网？尤其是那些没有能力保护自己的孩子。孩子没有选择自己的家庭，也没有能力决定父母的收入，更无法理解为什么妈妈必须凌晨出去工作。他们不应该因为出生在单亲家庭、低收入家庭，就承担更多本不该由他们承担的风险。所以，我们既应该感谢那个伸手救下孩子的人，也应该思考，怎样才能让这样的“英雄救援”越来越少发生。这背后涉及的，其实不仅仅是一个家庭，而是托育、儿童福利、就业保障和社会救助等一系列问题。比如，低收入家庭能不能获得更加可负担的托育服务？单亲父母在最困难的时候，能不能获得足够的临时照护支持？儿童福利能不能更加精准地覆盖真正有需要的家庭？一个人因为暂时失去收入、家庭结构发生变化时，能不能得到基本的生活保障？这些问题，看起来都是冷冰冰的政策问题，但最终对应的，却是一个个具体的人。是那个凌晨出门接单、为了孩子拼命挣钱的母亲。是那个天还没亮就醒来，因为找不到妈妈而爬上窗台的孩子。也是那个恰好路过、伸手托住孩子的普通人。一个真正成熟的社会，不应该只在悲剧发生以后，依靠好心人的勇敢去挽救个体。更理想的状态，是在危险发生之前，就已经有足够完善的制度，把那些最困难的人接住。经济发展当然重要，GDP当然重要。但GDP最终应该转化成什么？应该转化成孩子更安全的成长环境，转化成普通家庭面对风险时的底气，也应该让一个辛苦工作的母亲，不必在“养活孩子”和“照顾孩子”之间被迫做一道残酷的选择题。所以，这件事最值得我们记住的，不只是那个徒手爬上防盗网救孩子的英雄。我们更应该记住的是：一个社会真正的文明，不是看它有没有英雄，而是看它能不能让普通人少一点不得不冒险求生的时刻。愿每一个孩子，都能在需要的时候有人照看；愿每一个努力生活的父母，都不必独自扛下所有风险。而这，或许才是社会保障真正应该存在的意义。

编辑：冯仍   校对：冯仍 翻译：沈美花

When a Single Mother Leaves Home in the Early Hours to Earn a Living, Who Looks After the Child?

Author: Yang Zhangbing

On August 15, a heartbreaking scene occurred in Danzhai, Qiandongnan, Guizhou.

Before dawn, a child woke up at an unknown hour and, finding their mother absent, unexpectedly climbed toward the window sill. The child ultimately became stuck in the window grilles, crying out desperately. There was no one else at home. Fortunately, a passerby noticed in time, climbed up the security cage with his bare hands, and securely held the child up, holding on until the police arrived to rescue the child from danger. This good Samaritan who acted courageously is, of course, worthy of our gratitude. However, while feeling relieved that the child is safe, I believe we should also ask: Why did such a hazard occur in the first place?

It was later learned that the child’s mother is a single mother. To earn money to support the household, she went out before dawn to take gig orders. She never expected that after the child woke up and could not find her, the child would climb onto the window sill alone.

Seeing this, many people’s first reaction might be: “How could a mother leave such a young child home alone?” This statement is not entirely without reason. An adult must indeed be responsible for a child’s safety.

However, if we stop at blaming the mother, it becomes easy to overlook another far more real question: For a mother raising a child alone who must also rely on her own labor to maintain the household, what else can she possibly do? If she does not go out to work, how will she pay for rent, food, milk powder, clothes, and various living expenses? If she goes out to work, who will look after the child?

If a society requires a single mother to work full-time to support her family while simultaneously demanding that she provide round-the-clock child care—without offering adequate childcare services, family support, or social guarantees—then the so-called “choice” is, in reality, likely no choice at all. This is also why the degree of civilization of a society cannot be measured solely by how high its GDP is, nor by where its economic aggregate ranks in the world. What truly deserves our attention is: When an ordinary person falls to the lowest point of life, does the society possess a safety net capable of catching them? Especially for those children who have no capacity to protect themselves.

Children do not choose their families, nor do they have the ability to determine their parents’ income, let alone comprehend why their mother must leave for work in the early morning. They should not have to bear additional risks that they ought not to bear simply because they were born into a single-parent or low-income family. Therefore, while we ought to thank the person who reached out to save the child, we should also reflect on how to make such “heroic rescues” happen less and less frequently.

What lies behind this issue actually involves not just a single family, but a series of matters including childcare, child welfare, employment security, and social assistance. For example, can low-income families gain access to more affordable childcare services? Can single parents receive sufficient temporary care support in their moments of greatest hardship? Can child welfare precisely cover the families that genuinely need it? When an individual temporarily loses income or experiences a change in family structure, can they obtain basic livelihood support?

These questions may appear to be cold policy issues, but ultimately, they correspond to concrete, real individuals. It is that mother who leaves home in the early morning to accept orders, striving desperately to make a living for her child. It is that child who wakes up before dawn and climbs onto the window sill because they cannot find their mother. And it is that ordinary person who happened to pass by and reached out to hold up the child. A truly mature society should not rely on the courage of good Samaritans to save individuals only after a tragedy occurs. A more ideal state is one where sufficiently sound institutions already exist before danger strikes to catch those who are in the greatest difficulty.

Economic development is certainly important, and GDP is certainly important. But what should GDP ultimately translate into? It should translate into a safer environment for children to grow up in, into the confidence of ordinary families when facing risks, and into allowing a hard-working mother to avoid being forced to make a cruel choice between “feeding her child” and “caring for her child.” Therefore, the most memorable part of this incident should not merely be the hero who climbed the security cage with his bare hands to save the child.

What we ought to remember even more is this: The true civilization of a society is measured not by whether it produces heroes, but by whether it can reduce the moments in which ordinary people are forced to risk their lives to survive. May every child have someone to look after them when needed; may every parent who works hard to live not have to shoulder all risks entirely alone. And this, perhaps, is the true meaning of why social security ought to exist.

Editor: Feng Reng

Proofreader: Feng Reng

Translator: Shen Meihua