February, 2008

I tried. Lord knows, I really tried.

I crammed, I shoved, I rolled. I stuffed, I squeezed, I wedged. I begged and I prayed, but nothing was going to make those backpacks bigger. I defy anyone to travel overseas for two weeks and fit the clothing and basic necessities of two da ren and two xiao ha’r into a couple of medium-sized backpacks, whose main cabin-space tends to be so much padding and strapping, it leaves little room for knickers and socks let alone a pair of men’s size 12 running shoes.

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A great way to get into the Olympic spirit (as if the past six years of buildup wasn’t enough) is to go and check out some of the Good Luck Beijing events going on around town.

Last week at the diving competition, 13-year-old Tom Daley finished seventh in Beijing's diving World Cup. This means he’ll become the youngest-ever diver to represent the UK at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Check out The Guardian's video of Tom in action.

Thirty-somethings like me will probably never get over their Sesame Street nostalgia fixations, so allow me to indulge a bit, if you will, with this NPR On-Air interview with everyone’s favorite furry-blue cookie devouring monster.

For our family’s rapidly approaching trip to California, I have set for myself the lengthy task of deciding how to pack two weeks’ worth of family travel into two moderate sized (read: teensy) backpacks. We are not a group of jetsetters that travel light. We like our colouring books, the pencils, the cards, the books, the never-ending supply of Zip loc bags containing xiao chi and the enormous, clunky 4WD suitcases with firm exteriors – all the better to protect the stash of treasures we invariably buy. My Dear Spouse (DS) will tell you I would buy snow in Antarctica. I’ll not argue that, especially if it’s an artfully carved snowball (those clever penguins).

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Being a new father is a mind-blowing experience, but what is most amazing is how quickly our baby is growing. It’s been over three weeks since Marianne was born, and I still marvel at the rate of her physical development. 

When we first laid eyes on her the morning she was born, our daughter was swollen up like a newborn pup. Though I could definitely recognize her newly opened eyes’ resemblance to mine (well – “eye,” as it was not until day three that she was fully and consistently able to keep her left eye open), the rest of her features were very much like any just-born baby: wrinkly.

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My Dear Spouse (DS) and I recently made the impetuous decision to snaffle the kids out of school and head to Disneyland. To abscond. To play hooky from life in Beijing. Irresponsible? Maybe. Naughty? A little. Exciting? Oh yes! Because we’re not talking Hong Kong Disney – oh no. Phhht. We’re talking the Real Deal. Yes folks, the place where dreams are made (note to self: pick up a few more dreams at Disney gift shop) – the original, the one and only – Anaheim Disney. (Squeal of delight – and without a trace of sarcasm!)

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I’ve just emerged from a week of deep hibernation over the Spring Festival holiday. Though I left the house a total of five times (to buy groceries) during this time, the seven-day break from work flew by – primarily because my wife and I were utterly consumed with caring for Marianne 24/7.

Our yue sao left us to our own devices right before the holiday and we were happy to finally have the chance to spend some quality time bonding and caring for Marianne on our own. Of course we did this fully anticipating a challenge, and, indeed, after a shaky start the first night (in which Marianne cried almost the entire night), it seemed that our daughter finally started to recognize us as her mommy and daddy – as opposed to the yue sao – the morning after.

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When it comes to absorbing information, everyone learns differently, and this is no more apparent than when we’re kids.

There are seven recognised learning styles – visual (spatial), aural (auditory/musical), verbal (linguistic), physical (kinesthetic), logical (mathematical), social (interpersonal) and solitary (intrapersonal). Understanding these styles can help us pinpoint learning strengths and difficulties in our children. Learn more at Learning Styles Online and discover your child’s personal learning style at What’s Your Learning Style? 

Learning happens 24 hours a day and does not have to include a protractor and a times-table. Here are some strategies you can use at home, regardless of your child’s leaning style, to stretch those sponge-like brains even further. They’ll be sopping up smarts in no time flat.

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Here’s a good article, albeit from an alarmist right-wing British newspaper, about the rise of smother-love. It seems that in the UK there has been a boom in the sale of GPS tracking devices, not for high-tech espionage exploits, but so that inquisitive parents can know where there kids are at all times.

Is this overprotection good for them? Should kids be allowed to experience cut knees and bloody noses as part of the growing up process? It’s tough to say, and is obviously one of those “where do you draw the line?” dilemmas.

There’s a good quote from the film director Terry Gilliam about parenting that I’ll paraphrase, if I may: “The good thing about children is when you drop them, they bounce.”

It’s frightening to think that for a period of about two weeks, the equivalent of the population of America is currently traveling around China. If your planning on getting out of Beijing for some much needed R and R with your family, it can be an especially worrying time.

I stumbled across this great article over at www.guardian.co.uk called 50 top tips for traveling with kids. It gives links to online resources, offers tips for disabled travelers and teaches you how to plan successfully for your trip.

If you are heading off this Spring Festival, or staying in Beijing to enjoy the celebrations, tbjkids wishes you the best for the New Year.

My apartment's paper-thin walls are becoming a problem. Now, as a tbjkids editor and someone who's fond of children, I should probably be more sympathetic to the new parents in the apartment next to mine – but that baby had better start sleeping though the night or I’m going to go crazy.

I guess I’ve been spoiled because I come from an especially sleepy (some might say lazy) family. During my brother’s teenage years we used to tease him for his perpetual sleepy eyes and requests for “five more minutes” to recover in the morning. Well, it seems like he’s having the last laugh now that he’s become a father because is sleepy disposition has been passed onto his daughter Rosie.

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