Chinese boy cuts off own finger after parents say he's playing too much on his mobile phone

If you've ever had an argument end badly, spare a thought for the parents of an 11-year-old boy from China who reacted to being told off for playing on his mobile phone too much by cutting off his own finger.

Following an argument with his parents over his smartphone habits the boy, referred to as Xiaopeng by Chinese media, displayed a dramatic response by taking a kitchen knife and axing the top of his left index finger, according to Sina News.

Parents of phone-wielding children and screenagers are all too familiar with the constant battle to get their bundles of joy unglued from their devices but not all would be faced with such a dramatic response as displayed by this young boy.

Literally giving his parents the finger

The incident reached tipping point after Xiaopeng grabbed his smartphone the moment he woke in the morning and continued to be engrossed even after his mother told him to put it down. When his father found out about the exchange a heated telling off (dare we say finger wagging) happened, which led to the frustrated boy severing his own left index finger from the first joint up.

After being rushed to hospital surgeons reattached the fingertip in a three-hour procedure, however it will be a while until doctors know whether it worked, as children have finer blood vessels so it's more difficult to get a successful reattachment. While the child may have wanted to prove some kind of point it may backfire as an index finger is a prime tool for smartphone games.