Puberty problems: Xiang Yun shares parenting woes and how son Chen Xi once made her cry

Parenting is a confusing task for most mums and dads.

In Xiang Yun's latest role in the Chinese drama Your World In Mine, her character has problems with her son who ran away from home for half a decade after an argument.

While in reality the 60-year-old actress and her son, actor Chen Xi, don't shy away from showing affection to one another now, the duo weathered some tough times in the past, Xiang Yun told AsiaOne in a recent interview.

"In the past, even though I was very busy with filming dramas every day, I would always find time during my break to fetch Chen Xi home from school and spend quality time with him.

"But he kept ignoring me. I felt so upset and miserable."

Xiang Yun couldn't understand why Chen Xi, who was 14 then, kept giving her the cold shoulder and was so distraught that she cried in the car.

"At that point in time, I felt so upset because I was so close to him — I really treated him as my treasure. So why was he treating me so coldly like this?"

Sharing more of her anecdote, she added: "I told myself, 'I need to give Chen Xi space. I won't keep forcing questions on him to make him say that he loves me.'

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"I gave him the space to grow and slowly he figured everything out and returned to me."

She shared that after Chen Xi, now 31, started his National Service, he would go to her like clockwork, finding her in her room and asking if she's doing well, occasionally hugging her.

Having gone through it, Xiang Yun advises parents with teenage children not to worry.

"That's just how puberty is… Don't be in a rush when it comes to your child. Now, Chen Xi really expresses his love for me."

Whenever she left or returned to their home, Chen Xi would be the first to see her off or welcome her home.

Xiang Yun added: "Actually, these boys are just finding their place in the world. Boys have suddenly become men. Their world has changed, they have girls in their lives… there's a lot on their mind and that makes them quiet."

Xiang Yun also said that parents should "take it easy".

"They will change. As long as the education we've given them when they were young is correct — and you can ask yourself if it was correct — then you can relax."

Your World in Mine is telecast on weekdays at 9pm on Channel 8. It is also available on demand for free on meWATCH. The drama also stars Huang Biren, Yao Wenlong, Hong Ling and Richie Koh.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com