Can children be equal to their parents?

Last Saturday, after dinner, my young sister's husband asked his daughter to light his cigarette. (yuk!  In the home!? that's awful)  His daughter, who is 8 years old, didn't know how to press the lighter button, and feared was a little scared of the flame fire. She tried several times, but she was still unable to press the lighter button, although her father urged her to do it. Finally, I stopped them, by saying:"my daughter will would refuse to do such a thing, this is not right!". My sister's husband had to give up.

One month ago, on another Saturday night, also after dinner, my young sister's husband abruptly ordered his daughter to kneel down on the ground just as punishment for her bad behavior that morning which we knew nothing about.(this clause is awkward here, being isolated, and 'that morning' also creates a problem) (we knew nothing whatsoever about the morning's events). The poor little girl really knelt down on the ground swiftly, but with tears in her eyes. I was shocked at that time (rightly so - he humiliated his daughter before other family, and he embarrassed you too), it was the first time that I saw someone kneeling down on the ground, I didn't know how what to do, and I did nothing at that time. I hate myself!

In recent years (for thousands of years in fact), filial piety has become popular in China, although it is a traditional Chinese culture. One non-commercial ad showed a pupil boy washing her his mother's feet, this means indicates that the government encourages people to show respect and love to their parents. Of course, the other side of this old tradition, in which stresses that children must obey their parents, also came to power.

I'm not against the filial piety, but I wish every people person, including children, to be respected, because every people one is created equal. And some People such as of my sister's husband alike, shouldn't force their children to obey them by in the name of filial piety.