Mum Shen lies, tells girl Cheng Cheng 'I'm not your real mum' in China A mother told her daughter in the fourth grade that she wasn't her real mother in order to make her more independent. A CHINESE woman lied to her daughter for more than a decade, telling her she wasn't her real mother in an effort to make her more independent. Shenyang Evening News reported that the woman, surnamed Shen, decided to tell the lie to her daughter Cheng Cheng when she was in the fourth grade after becoming concerned that she was becoming spoiled and arrogant because she had been born into a wealthy family. Initially the girl didn't believe her but after being told her real mother had died she began studying harder and improved her grades. She also became "sensible and obedient," the paper reported. Cheng Cheng chose to attend a boarding school, telling her mother she "wanted to live independently on campus." She was accepted to Dalian Jiaotong University with multiple scholarships and after graduating, her high grades earned her a spot at a software company in Shanghai. It was then that Shen revealed that she had lied and that she was Cheng's biological mother. She says she doesn't regret the lie. "My daughter is beautiful, she has a successful career making over 6000 yuan ($1050) every month and she's now married to a good husband," Shen said. There may be some people who do not agree with my methods, but if I had [told her the truth], she would have just been satisfied in her existing environment and wouldn't have the motivation and prospects that she has now. But some have criticised the unorthodox parenting. "I'm thinking of things from Cheng Cheng's point of view," a recent college graduate named Xiao Wang said. Maternal love is something that is irreplaceable for a child. So while Cheng Cheng may be successful now, it's possible that being lied to by her own mother for so many years may have left her with some [psychological] scars. "It's important to educate a child and teach them the value of independence," psychologist Huang Yu said. But Mrs Chen's educational style is not appropriate for every family. We need to be also concerned about a child's spiritual growth, not just a child's academic performance.