I have noticed that the security men on the gate to our school have started sporting helmets and batons recently. Apparently this is a new regulation. Perhaps a party chief’s son has the contract to supply this clothing and sticks – who knows – but it all seems completely over the top. China is the safest place I have ever lived and I cannot imagine that these little children are under threat from anyone. This is not America, there are no school shootings (that we know about anyhow!). So why the increased security? 
You also have to question the hypocrisy of having guards armed with batons and shields at my local school on JiaShan Lu when the journey the kids take to work is a lot more hazardous than being in school. The school run in China is done not in big 4×4’s but on bicycles, on foot and increasingly on e.bikes and motorbikes.
There is no requirements for anyone on e.bikes to wear helmets and it is rare to see anyone except a foreigner doing so. These kids cling on behind the parent, or more often, the grandparent as they dodge through the rush hour traffic.
It also seem hypocritical to give your children a mask to stop him inhaling fumes but not a helmet for when someone pulls out on front of you and you crash head first on the pavement. It seems your kids can’t breathe in air-borne pollutants but the parents are happy about exposing them to risk of life-threatening and shortening head injuries.
