The name Bijie, a mountainous prefecture located in southwestern China's Guizhou Province, would hardly be known if it weren't for a recent tragedy that hit the headlines. In a village under its administration, four young siblings aged from 5 to 13 ended their lives by swallowing pesticide nearly a week ago.

The tragedy stunned the entire country because almost every link in the chain of social institutions should be held accountable. As "left-behind children," these under-aged kids were living on their own without adult guardians by their side. More than that, violence had been whittling away the integrity of the family for years. Although local government officials and school teachers paid visits to the lone children regularly in an effort to offer material assistance and persuade them to go back to school, their endeavors often ended in vain.

Though an extreme and individual case, their unfortunate deaths might be the worst scenario for left-behind children. Their parents, forced to move to cities to make more money to support their family, usually leave their children behind to be cared for by relatives, often elderly, poorly educated grandparents of limited financial means.

In China, official estimates put the number of left-behind children at 61 million. Of these, 40 percent are under age and 5.7 percent do not see their parents on a yearly basis. Due to lack of parental care, these children suffer developmental issues: They are vulnerable to human trafficking, more easily involved in criminal activities and more likely to display mental problems, such as depression and isolation which could lead to suicide.

A suicide note left by the eldest child, saying "I know you have been kind to me, but I have been plotting suicide for a long time, and it's time for me to leave," could have exposed a conundrum: Exterior relief cannot replace parental care.

The four children left behind savings of more than 3,000 yuan ($483.3) in their bank account, storage of more than 500 kilograms of corn and other sufficient groceries. Children like these can be well-fed as their parents send back more money; however, they are actually in "abject poverty" in terms of mental development.

These children need effective psychological intervention most at this time. But the capability of local authorities and teachers in remote areas to provide such service is questionable. What's more important is that the whole country needs incentives to inspire migrant-worker parents to fulfill their parental education as they should.