Too much homework can be damaging to the health of students, and a recent medical case in China has shown that it's not healthy for their parents either. 

Stories of stressed Chinese parents dealing with their children's homework have been circulating on Chinese social media, with many jokingly writing that they should start searching for new parents, to avoid tutoring their kids. 

A 33-year-old mother in Nanjing was hospitalized in late October after suffering an acute cerebral infarction, a lesion caused by the narrowing of the arteries supplying blood and oxygen to the brain. The stroke reportedly occurred after the woman became incensed because her daughter was wasting time late at night, instead of finishing her schoolwork.

The mother recovered, but the story resonated with many parents. 

"I tutored my son with his homework until he was in fifth grade. Then I was hospitalized with a myocardial infarction and needed to have two heart stents implanted. Compared to living, I decided to let the homework go," said @Fengchuixueluo.

"I am tutoring my child right now. The teacher asked him to finish the simple math work in 10 minutes included writing his name. And three minutes later, my son is still 'working' on his name. I have to try my best to keep me from yelling at him," said @Woxianggengdongnilihui.

With Chinese society valuing a student's interests and hands-on skills, homework is no longer just about knowledge from textbooks. Parents have been required to help their children to finish handcrafts or to prepare teaching materials for school.

A survey last year found that Chinese students spend around three hours per day on their homework, 3.7 times more than their Japanese peers and 4.8 times that of pupils in South Korea. Chinese parents have now been involved in this heavy workload.