I was thinking the same thing!

Play it box for 50 cents

Okay, okay, but for seriousness.... who DOES that?! Can't imagine what those poor kids are going to have to deal with growing up. Further proof that some people should never have children!

Really Wiser? some poeple should never have children!? You sound dumber than anyone I know cuz this is hilarious! Remember, hair grows...

Can you please change your name to MakesNOSense? Those kids are going to be the laughing stock of the school.

It will certainly make it more difficult for one to blame another for his own actions... A lot like my own triplets do.

The parents are lucky they weren't "blessed" with all girls. They'd be in the trash heap by now. BTW: they violated China's one-child policy. This is not funny. With our burgeoning world population, no one should be producing more than one child. The planet cannot continue to provide resources for, now looking at 10 billion people.

Hair grows but kids are merciless in their teasing. They don't need an excuse. Even after their hair grows out, other kids will still be teasing them.

Mozzie, don't be ridiculous. They did not violate the policy. See the responses below.

I think it's cute. I'm sure it will help the parents tell them apart. I came from a large family (9 kids), and I remember how my mother would have to cycle through the entire list of names before she finally hit on the right one when she wanted to call one of us. And we weren't twins or triplets or anything like that.

Remember, this is China, not the US.... very different over there.

Mozzie,

Somebody should replace you and hopefully soon. The parents are probably just having a bit of fun....I'm pretty sure at that age the kids are having a bit of fun with it too.

Mozzie,

They're identical! This is a natural occurance. I have identical triplets, and there were no drugs involved.

Very cute...

Nice to be able to smile ...

until I read some of the nasty posts.

Still,

I'm going with...cute.

Troy: I see no reason for such a vile attack.

Your mother must be very sad to have produced such an ignorant son. You don't understand anything.

Mozzie they didn't violate the one child policy as it doesn't apply in certain situations, one of which is the birth of multiples.

mozzie-600, "vile attack"? I have to agree with Troy on this one, and I wouldn't consider what he said to you a vile attack at all.

First, you said, had those children been girls, "they'd be in the trash heap by now." How insensitive is that?

Then you go on to say that this family violated the one child only policy. Well, had you known ANYTHING about how the policy actually works, you would see that one exception is for multiple births, such as twins, triplets, and in this case, quadruplets. This family didn't violate anything, other than perhaps my eyes with those haircuts.

Please do some research before spouting off your gibberish. And for God's sake, try not to be so ignorant and insensitive in the future.

This is cute.

For all the ppl who are saying "oh the poor children", how do you know the kids didnt want it done? Theyre kids they probably thought it was fun to have stuff shaved into their heads and are probably relieved that ppl can tell them apart... how annoying would it be to be constantly called by another persons name? ...Its just hair

Wonder if any of the siblings lamented, "But I want to be number 1!"

Now for the comment of the day to burn in hell for:

See! Even they think they all look the same!

Sick. how about finding another way to tell them apart. That is cruel.

The kids will probably like being called by their name (I'm assuming 1= Joe, 2 = Harry (or the Chinese equivalent) rather than being called the wrong name. I went to school with twins, and anything would have been a help both for the rest of us kids, and for the teachers!

I’m sure they'll be fine. Whoever bullies them will soon find out that 4 are better
than one or two. As soon as those four figure that out they’re going to be
feared on the playground. Then the other kids will call the quad squad or
something.

Another cool way to tell them apart would be smartphone readable barcodes on the back of their necks. That would look sick. (sick=cool)

Mozzie,

I understand ignorance perfectly well. The world is full of idiots who think they have the answer to the problems of the world.

I'm not the one who thinks that people should not be permitted to have more children than what it takes to replace themselves here. I have six brothers and a sister and I'm sure they would love to disagree with you...probably my mother and father would too. Sorry, was a bit rude but I get tired of hearing that garbage.

The real problem is more likely that all of the wrong people are having way too many children.

A bit off on a tangent but there you go. Admit it. You know you laughed alittle bit at this article at least.

Mozzie, the one child policy was NOT broken, there is an exception for multiple births. Nice of you to try to police it while halfway across the world and only partially knowledgeable about the specifics, but maybe it's better left to the Chinese to enforce their own laws.

if Mozzie was trying to be sarcastic, it came across wrong. maybe he's just trolling...

@SIESTASIS

whoops, didn't mean to jack your word. I saw your comment after i posted. I guess great minds think alike, huh ;)

Some of you are acting as if the parents tattooed the numbers on them which they DID NOT! Get over it,,,its funny!

First of all, remember that this is China. Some of the rules in our schools are ridiculous, but I don't know what their policies are. I would think that bullying is highly disciplined.

Secondly, when I taught identical triplet girls, it would have been nice to have a way to tell them apart. When I asked the class for suggestions, I soon regretted it. After a few that wouldn't work, someone said one of the girls was always smiling, the others weren't. (Cringe)

It would have been nice to use their initials, but maybe some of the names started with the same letter.

Mickey --

I also grew up in a large family, and i do remember the list of names being run through. I can't imagine doing it with 4 identicals. But I sure am glad Mom and Dad didn't have to stop at one, and I'll bet you are, too (unless, of course, you're #1.) :)

Fun article; cute picture.

Mozie is right, there are too many people on this planet. All in favor of Mozie killing himself, say AYE.

Just Me,

"I also grew up in a large family, and i do remember the list of names being run through."

Thanks for that. I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

Hell, my mom called me by the dog's name before she got to mine. The best is when they start to repeat names and just get in a loop. The angrier they are, the more confused they got with the names.

My mom would cycle through our names by age oldest to youngest until she got to the right person to yell at....and tis true, the angrier she got the more confused she became of which child she was yelling at....

.....good times. We laugh about them now.

Mozie probably isn't trolling, just one of those people who has to voice an opinion on a subject that he/she knows nothing about.

This is a very practical solution for the first day of school. Chances are that by the time the hair grows to erase the numbers they won't need them anymore.

On the other hand, instead of numbers they could have used symbols, like playing card suits. Diamond, heart, club... oh boy, someone's gonna have to be the spade.

I was the youngest of 11 children--a girl, four boys, a girl, four boys, a girl (me). My mother would cycle through the names and I never understood how come I got called by some of the boy's names. We thought it was hilarious.

The funniest was once when she was yelling at my youngest brother, she threw in the name Timmy--no Timmy in the family. She responded that with that many boys at least one of them should have been named Timmy. My brother named his first son Timmy.

Sure brings back fond memories.

when one of them finally lands a girlfriend there will be big trouble in little china

"Did you just.....?????" "no, no.....I just need to use the restroom, I'll be right back...." (door shuts) "Next!" .........high fives ensue

pretty sure that would only happen if there was a written contract stating that if the other one has a gf the favour would have to be returned...right?

@ inoh8u I think that is hilarious....

I don't know about that. Have you seen some of the hair cuts out there today? Some parents should be fined for what they LET their children display on themselves!

You're right, Don. America is frighteningly intolerant these days. There's always racism, hatred and cruelty everywhere but lately it has become a raging fire for way too many in the US. We're very close to a true Oligarchy (whereas a very small percentage of the population controls the vast bulk of wealth and power). If these trends continue it will get extremely ugly. Historically, Oligarchy always leads to one of two places: bloody revolution or Fascism. America is on the verge of the latter and I hear many grumblings for the former. But it can all be stopped today if Americans become more humane and decent.

Here's hoping it starts to change for the better very soon.

They are not allowed to be embarrassed or humiliated .......

Or, to just give them four distinctly different haircuts. Or four interesting shapes (star, moon, clover, circle). I think the numbers send the wrong message.

Thats what I was thinking --four different hairstyles! (that makes too much sense) The Chinese are doing nothing for their stereotype that their people are just a number ( now literally)

Hair grows out, tattoo's next?

Couldn't they have used a Sharpie?

If that was an option... school uniforms

Or here's an idea. Don't dress them alike.

@Win Win

Theyre wearing school uniforms...

To Kallie: When I first saw the picture, the Chinese stereotype was the first thing that popped into my head. I thought to myself as I looked at the picture; 1) hmm, now those are some cheap sloppy generic haircuts with no care involved. 2) very lazy reflection of the parents, ie; poor cut, poor choice of identification that's utilitarian without love caring or sensitivity. poor children if they're no more important than that to their parents in a country where in order to have more than 1 w/o breaking laws you have to be extremely lucky. 3) cheap, sloppy, half a$$ low quality... I wonder if they're Chinese? Yep...

To me it's like slapping on a cheesy bumper sticker on a Ferrari... cockeyed

They could switch tags in school just to mess with everyone else. I know I would do it if I had a twin sibling.

This was for the teachers and classmates, not for the parents.

For school purposes... some of those adults will mix them up for years! My own family still can't tell my triplets apart, and they are 13.

Who knows, maybe the kids suggested it.

You DO realize how easy it would be for them to just change shirts right?

Plus, most Asian schools have a strict dress code.

They could shave it all off at any time if they get tired of it. I can hear the coach yelling: #1 get the ball, pass to #4... Should be fun :-)

Multiple births are an exception.

http://askville.amazon.com/china-birth-twins-triplets-government-child/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=1133628

The parents are either part of the government or they are very wealthy to pay the fine ( and in some cases yearly tax) The parents could have dual citizenship too.

OR if these were natural quads of the first pregnancy ( or second in the country) they would easily be allowed to be "kept"

If they were the second or third pregnancy using in vitro methods--there would be huge fine.

Dont forget China is HUGE, in most big cities the population is very advanced and they tend to be well educated. They have some of the top universities and hospitals in the world. If a family had an unexpected pregnancy there would just be a fine.

The abortions and baby stealing you read about on American news happen in small cities way out in the country where the local magistrates have too much power and they treat the populace without concern.

Exceptions are made for multiple births. This is why fertility drugs are so popular in China, so women can have more than one child at a time and not get fined. Fertility drugs were not used in this case, obviously, as these kids are identical and not fraternal.

Also, the law does not apply to ethnic minorities, only the majority Han Chinese. In rural areas, a second child does not result in a fine if the first child is female or disabled.

As far as the story, what happened to name tags? The kids are very cute, even with their haircuts. I like those uniforms!

Kallie, actually the Chinese Gov Hospitals are horrific, the "good" ones are the NGOs or Private funded ones. The vast majority of Rich Chinese parents in Mainland China send their children to Universities overseas since the Universities there are subpar.

China's one-child policy makes allowances for more than one child being born of a single pregnancy. There is no penalty and the parents keep the children.

Actually China got a 1 child policy.

before you spout out rules, laws and regulations at least try to know what you are talking about instead of releasing spews of ignorance as if you know something...

IT'S A SHAME YOUR COMMENTS WEREN'T ABORTED!

Funny!

RR123...You make large assumptions based on no facts. First you start with your Golden Rule and then you immediately VIOLATE your own rule. You say the parents did something stupid...well just how stupid can you get?

Second, you don't know the culture in China, you don't know how children there think, act or respond. You don't know if the kids like it or not. You technically know nothing other than spewing your ignorance out about things you obviously know NOTHING about.

STICK TO YOUR OWN GOLDEN RULE...remember it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt!

Who said that was his rule? Looked like he was stating it as the conceived "general" rule. The best part about this is the last line you wrote.. you've definitely removed all doubt lmao