August, 2007
Articles from prior issues of beijingkids can be found by checking out the archive links below for the month and year you are interested in.
Semester
Xuéqi
Semester
学期
He started at a new school this semester.
Tā zhège xuéqī kāishǐ qù le yī ge xīn de xuéxiào shàng xué.
他这个学期开始去了一个新的学校上学.
Not Just Fireworks
Move over Baskin-Robbins – it turns out ice cream was invented in China around four thousand years ago when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture into snow. But the question remains … when and where did tutti-frutti flavor first make an appearance?
Chinese Choices
Creative lunch alternatives
If the sight of one more bag of potato chips is liable to make your kids scream with boredom, freshen things up with some Chinese twists on old-hat snacks.
Back-to-school Buildup
When school let out in June I was always as deliriously happy as every other kid running out of the building straight towards summer. And like every other kid, I spent most of the long holiday completely absorbed in my summer pursuits – if the thought of school ever flickered briefly through my brain it was usually attached to a “how many days before I have to go back there” panic. But inevitably, something shifted each August and the local pool started to look a little less inviting, the playground a little tired. I could no longer convince my brothers to play cards, or find any exciting books at the library. Slowly, school started to sound less like a curse word and more and more like something to look forward to.
My wise parents would fuel my back-to-school excitement by taking me to the corner drugstore and letting me indulge in a school supply shopping spree. A whole afternoon would pass while I stood in deep contemplation in front of the display of notebooks, folders, pencils and pencil cases. Everything was so pristine and intact and smelled so new.
School of Style
Fun and fashionable back-to-school choices for kids of all ages
Styling by Fiona Zhang with assistance from Nisly Lin and Kat Chen
Noontime Nutrition
Help your kids eat well at school
School-age kids eat a third of their meals away from home. For advice on how to ensure kids get the most out of lunch at school, tbjkids spoke to Nina Lenton, a UK-registered dietician who works as health educator and community liaison at the Bayley and Jackson Medical Center in Beijing.
How can you judge the lunch offerings at your child’s school?
Ask the school to send you a copy of one or two weekly menus. It is often difficult to judge whether food is healthy or not unless you see it or know a little more about the ingredients, such as how much oil or salt is used in the cooking. If you are really concerned, visit the school at lunchtime. Make sure there are vegetarian and low-fat options available, that high-fat foods such as pizza and fries are kept to a minimum, and that there are plenty of vegetable and salad dishes. Some schools publish information about their school canteen and healthy eating policy on their website.
Packing the Perfect Lunch
Making lunch fun, nutritious and delicious
When your kids are out of the house and away from your watchful eye, it can be a real battle to make sure they eat the right kind of food. With fast food abundantly available, the all-powerful draw of the french fry can be hard to resist. But with a little creativity and some new inspiration drawn from this guide to healthy eating options, you can get your kid interested in food that’s as nutritious as it is delicious.
Here, chef Eric Ong from the Westin Beijing has crafted an amazing healthy option lunch box that even the fussiest eater will go bananas for. On the next page, nutritionist Nina Lenton offers advice on how to educate your kids in eating sensibly, and we give you the lowdown on what people from around the world are packing into their lunch boxes. And finally, if you’re bored of all those same old Western snacks, we offer a guide to freshening up lunchtime with some fun Chinese alternatives.
Make the First Move
Get to Grips with Chinese Chess
Xiangqi (象棋), or Chinese chess as it is more commonly known, has been played in China since the fourth century BC. Nowadays, barely a street corner in Beijing is without a group of weathered old timers hunched over a board. Follow tbjkids’ guide to this classic game and in no time you’ll be pushing your chariot across the river and jumping your cannon over a screen like a pro.
Spotlight On: Consumer Safety
You probably already heard about the Beijing baozi maker who confessed on Chinese television to cutting costs by filling his steamed pork buns with seasoned cardboard instead of meat. While China Daily recently declared the story a fake, the fact remains that many other stories of substandard consumer products reported in both the Chinese and international media are not.
The good news is that action is being taken. China Daily reports that government regulators recently shut down 180 food plants in China. This was part of a mass overhaul of China’s food safety policies, which includes a crackdown on the use and distribution of banned food additives and counterfeit food products. According to China Daily, mineral oil, paraffin wax, formaldehyde and the carcinogenic malachite green, among other scary substances, have been used in the production of flour, candy, pickles, biscuits, seafood, tofu and other foods, and some manufacturers have also used recycled or expired ingredients.
In the News
In a bid to help curb childhood obesity, starting this September a five-minute daily dancing regime will be added to the Chinese national curriculum. Instructional DVDs have already been sent to regional education authorities detailing the seven steps that students will be expected to perform. To mix things up, new steps and melodies will be added every two years. Cao Jiajing, a student at Beijing’s Ritan School, thinks that “students have a lot of pressure on them from their studies, and maybe this can act as a release for them.” Some teachers are not too impressed, however. Beijing teacher Ma Yanling disapproves of the classes, worrying that “letting students waltz will create hotbeds of adolescent love.”
New Year, New School
What you and your kids need to know about changing schools
It is the nature of expat life that families have to become accustomed to frequent changes. Still, the prospect of moving to a new school, dealing with a new schedule and making new friends can be stressful for even the most well-traveled kid. What can you do to make this sometimes scary transition as smooth as possible for your own children? We spoke with several Beijing international schools to get some practical advice for parents of kids dealing with a move to Beijing, a school transfer, or a move between school levels.
Nursery and Kindergarten Transitions
Jack Hsu of Ivy Bilingual School and Sarah Ma of Eton International School provide tips about avoiding first-day tears (yours and your kids’)
I Want to Be an Industrial Designer
Greg Collins designs equipment for his sports heroes
When Canadian and ice hockey fanatic Greg Collins realized that he wasn’t going to make it as a pro hockey player, he decided to transform his passion for sports into a creative career designing sports equipment. Today, Greg’s products can be found in sporting goods stores all over the world, and he’s designed specialized equipment for sports like snowboarding, off-road skateboarding, and, of course, ice hockey. A talented Grade 8 art class at the Canadian International School faced off with Greg and quizzed him on his profession.
Violence in Video Games
Destructive and unnecessary or harmless and entertaining? Beijing’s young gamers weigh in
How do you feel when you play a violent video game?
Thomas: When I play a video game, I feel like I am actually in the game – I take on the role of the character I’m playing. The violence doesn’t really bother me, it just makes me able to experience things that I would never normally be able to do in real life.
Runar: I have to admit that I feel that a game is more realistic and much more interesting if it has violence in it. Like Thomas said, we play games to be able to do the things that we normally would never be able to do. I’m not stupid – I know the difference between real life and the game, so the violence in games isn’t really an issue.
Wear Your Baby
Comfy ways to carry your little one
If you’ve heard of Attachment Parenting – the movement founded on the notion that babies thrive on physical contact and closeness with their parents – you’ve probably heard of “babywearing.” As parents explore natural ways to nurture their children through touch and a sense of closeness, many of them are rejecting strollers and choosing to carry their children close to the body, where they can be lulled to sleep by the sound of their parent’s beating heart. According to second-hand baby items trader Karen Patterson of NU2YU Baby Shop, here in Beijing more and more parents are beginning to inquire about slings, wraps and other babywearing products. Karen invited American mom and babywearing expert Liora Pearlman to teach tbjkids about some of the many different ways you can wear your baby.
Beijing's Smallest August 2007
New parents: Want to share your new arrival with our readers? E-mail a photo of your little one (at least 1MB in size)with his or her full name, nationality, birth date, hospital, and parents’ names to amanizhang@tbjkids.com
Keanu Ong Kah Meng
Singaporean. Born to Wendy Qian Xiao Ying and Eric Ong on May 21 at Beijing United Family Hospital.
Duke Campbell Dawson
American. Born to Wade and Camille Dawson on July 5 at Beijing United Family Hospital.
Daniel Martin Adams/Su Rui
British. Born to Martin Adams and Su Jing on April 26 at Beijing Fuchang Yiyuan.
The ABCs of the CBD
Beyond the Skyscrapers
Feast in Peace
Thanks to the children’s playground at its doorstep, tasty Italian joint Casa Mia lets you savor your meal in peace without having to worry about your little ones overturning the table after bolting down their food – grab a seat outside and you can keep an eye on things while you spaghetti-twirl. The menu is full of family-friendly pizza and pasta offerings with reasonable price tags. Casa Mia. (Some English spoken; English menus.) Daily 10.30am-10.30pm. 1/F, Bldg C2, Sunshine 100, Tower C, Guanghua Lu (next to the children’s playground), Chaoyang District (5100 2522) 卡萨米亚意大利餐吧, 朝阳区光华路2号阳光100国际公寓C座底层 (儿童游乐园旁边)
Destination: Xi'an
Of trains and terracotta
The Travelers: Americans Jim and Sue Serstad, intermittent residents of Beijing for the past seven years, and their three children, Garrett (11), Jenna (10) and Ian (5). Jim is area director at the Regus Group and mom-cum-teacher Sue homeschools the kids. Joining the Serstads were family friends John and Carissa Lewis and their three children, Jonathan (12), Ellie (10) and Rachel (7).
The Destination: Xi’an, China.
The Plan: An exciting train journey (to thrill kids tired of flying) followed by a stay in an ancient destination (to satisfy young history buff Garrett).
The Chis
The Chi family has been a fixture on the Beijing expat scene for seven years. Dad Alex is one of the pastors at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship and mom Eunice is a librarian at Yew Chung International School, where both Angela (16) and Ariena (14) are students. Before Beijing, this Chinese-American family lived in Philadelphia; now they make their home in Chaoyang District. Here are some of the Chi family favorites.
Uncharted Waters
Elsa develops a mind of her own
Don’t you hate it when your most reliable Chinese stock phrase is met by a look of total non-comprehension? And don’t you really, really hate it when the look is coming from your own, formerly adoring, offspring? Returning home from work recently, I was greeted with the heart-warming sight of Elsa playing with her dollhouse, happily wittering away to ayi on a make-believe matter I couldn’t quite catch. “Ni shuo shenme?” I enquired encouragingly of my little angel. She looked up, her stony facial expression the perfect mirror of a 60-year-old Beijing taxi driver’s. “MEI TING DONG,” she intoned.
Sharing My Son
Introducing Daniel Martin Adams
I am finally worthy of this column’s title. I became a Beijing baba at 10.37am on April 26, when our son Daniel Martin Adams/Su Rui (苏锐) was delivered by caesarean at the Beijing OB/GYN Hospital (Beijing Fuchang Yiyuan). Showing an early propensity for the forward somersault, our germinating gymnast flipped himself the wrong way up in the 36th week – hence the caesarean, which went well. If readers are anything like my mum, they will be dying to know that Daniel was born 51cm “long” and weighing 7.2 jin. (And in case, like my mum, you thought jin was a drink, you might like to note that it is a Chinese measurement equal to half a kilogram.)
Pizza Party
Kids get hands-on in a Papa John’s pizza-making course
Pizza: the ultimate kiddie food. Infinitely customizable yet always recognizable, it never goes out of favor. Which is why tbjkids was so excited to learn about the pizza-making courses at Beijing pizza chains like Papa John's, designed to let kids get up close and personal with their favorite meal. In the spirit of investigation, we rounded up six rambunctious pizza aficionados to try out the Little Papa course at the Kerry Centre branch of Papa John’s.
Although food is an international language, Papa John’s rep Shelly Dong came down to lead Jan (10), Hunter (9), Livia (7), Clayton (6), Ellen (5) and Tao (4) in English. While some Papa John’s staff speak functional English, it’s best to request an English instructor of your own if the pizza makers in your group aren’t bilingual.
