A big part of life is navigating all the different types of relationships we encounter. Whether it’s within your family, romantic relationships, life-long bonds of friendship, or our day-to-day encounters, knowing how to manage the relationships in our life will give us a high emotional quotient (EQ) and keeps us from being that one socially awkward friend.
In this issue of beijingkids we explore a wide range of different relationship dynamics, from the playground to walking down the aisle. Our Ask the Expert writer Julie Wolf discusses a question that we’ve all wondered at some point in our lives, “Is it ever ok to discipline someone else’s child?”, and teenage sweethearts Tom and Clare Starobynski share their secrets to a long happy marriage after four kids and 18 years of marriage.
Without a doubt, one of the key components to a healthy relationship is spending time together. In this issue, we’ve found some of Beijing’s best places to go for some less conventional family bonding along with the local etiquette on gift-giving when it comes time to celebrate. Believe it or not, in China sometimes a well-meaning gift may just offend your new friend.
One of the major milestones of life is that first romantic relationship followed by first heartbreak. We interviewed two families from different cultural backgrounds on their views of letting their child date and polled Beijing’s parents for the best relationship advice they’ve ever received and will most likely be passing down to their own kids.
But not all young relationships are innocent. Some can leave emotional scars for years to come. We’re so proud of one brave young writer Anna Ren for speaking up and sharing her story, about the traumatic experience of being harassed and cyberbullied by her peers, in hope that other victims of bullying will also feel emboldened to speak out.
KEEP READING: Eating Pizza: Good for Your Belly, Good for Their Heart
Photos: Uni You
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 September issue
1 Comment
best of luck.