For parents of very young children, choosing a preschool isn’t something we do lightly. After filtering schools based on basic criteria such as location, budget, and type (public, local private, or even international), we then take into consideration another level of criteria such as curriculum and availability of air purifiers until we eventually decide on a school… and it’s not even certain if we can get in.

And once we do—especially for kids going to school for the first time—we wonder if we have chosen the right school, because a month later, our kid is still crying every time it’s time to say goodbye!

Crying, fortunately, is something that eventually goes away as our children become more comfortable with their preschools. But along the way, one might hear or encounter situations which warrant some queries that parents might not have even thought of asking their schools until after enrollment.

And it’s quite hard to change your mind once you’ve paid the bill.

So here are a few points to ponder, and if you feel they’re relevant to your situation consider asking them before enrolling your child:

Does Distance to School Factor in When Picking a School? Click the photo to read more.

1. School Bus Availability: what if we’re the only ones left in our compound?  
For those without cars and/or those who work, having the school bus fetch your child every morning is extremely convenient. In my case, it’s so much easier because I don’t have to prepare my younger daughter as well, or rush both through breakfast because my younger daughter won’t be able to have it until we return from sending her sister to school. Or worse—we might have trouble getting a cab (especially on rainy days or when there’s some government meeting, forcing many roads to close). One time we were more than an hour late for school!

And even though bigger schools generally provide school buses, they still mostly require a minimum number of students to apply from your compound before they accept your application.

And maybe you fulfill that requirement….for now. Maybe you started the school year with three kids from your compound taking the school bus, only to be left alone mid-year because their parents got reassigned elsewhere. In this situation you’ll need to ask your school: will my child still be allowed to continue riding the school bus? And if the answer is no, you’ll need to ask yourself: how important is having a school bus?

Photo from Health: The Natural Path – Food Allergy or Sensitivity?

And so if your child has yet to develop food allergies, but you know it runs in the family, consider sharing your worries with your school of choice before enrolling and discuss what arrangements you can have if your child develops food allergies. Will they allow you to prepare your child’s food? Can they promise to help ensure your child never tastes risky foods (cause of allergy) while in the classroom?

A Question of Faith: How respect lies at the core of two Beijing schools’ approach to religion

3. What if the school values are very different from my family’s?
And after finally filtering your options to a few choices, there’s now the question of which school might be mentally or spiritually best for your child.

Beijing expats come from all walks of life, from different walks of faith. But the allure of promising international schools might distract you from the values, views and even the faith you want to pass on to your children. I know this is something many Koreans and Japanese definitely take into consideration, which is why so many send their children to schools mainly catering to their nationalities. And then there are those who send their children to schools teaching their faith.

And if you suddenly disagree with the things acceptable in your school, if you suddenly have a change of heart, then attempting to move your children to a new school could affect them negatively. Children crave stability, and moving schools while still living in the same city doesn’t exactly encourage that.

And so for this, I highly recommend reading through the local family magazines and seeing which school resonates with you best, even if those articles are about much older children. Those articles provide valuable insights into a school’s culture, and potentially your own children’s future views.

Photo from: One Angry Mother: The Economy and Frazzled Moms

The first friend was surprised. The second friend added, “The best way to see if a school fits you is to see if you can get along with the parents in that school. Their children will take up after them, which in turn will affect your kid. A great curriculum isn’t enough; you need to see the school’s choice of parents. So if you can’t agree with the parents of your school, then there’s a chance your child will be influenced by their kids.” She then started to tell us about how much she loved the parents at her daughter’s school and how they all have similar goals for their children. They have a strong community of like-minded parents and this is why she knows that the school was the best choice for her family.

One way to get to know your potential community better is by joining their events if there are any. With my daughter’s current school, we were invited by the admissions department to participate in one of the school’s events. There I met a few of the parents and also saw how attentive the teachers and organizers were to their visitors.

Another way to get to know your potential community is by hanging out at the main courtyard or school play area once all the children are dismissed. This is a great opportunity to see how parents of the community interact, and even how they reprimand or care for their children.

From the article Community Care: Schools Should be a Social Hub for Their Neighborhood

5. Who will my children’s classmates be? 
The first school I enrolled my daughter in was a “bilingual” kindergarten, where 9 out of 10 teachers were Chinese and the tenth was a foreigner. During the enrollment process, the kindergarten’s headmaster pointed out their foreign students and their class photos where the foreign kids naturally stood out. But I didn’t sign up because of that; I signed up because I wanted a nearby kindergarten and a Chinese environment for my daughter. I got those, and so I was fine.

But enrolling in a school where you are expecting an international community is a different story. If this is something that matters to you and your family, confirm with your school the percentage of expats and non-expats in your child’s class-to-be.

Photo from: Chinese Phrases For Fending Off Paparazzi When You Have Children

6. How is the school ensuring my child’s privacy? 
The advent of social media makes it so much easier nowadays for other people to share photos of our children without our knowledge or consent. The chance of this is even higher when the children are physically different from the locals. How is your school protecting your children’s privacy? Understanding the level of protection they’re receiving from the school will help ease your worries.

7. How does the school deal with challenging students?
I didn’t know anything about School A until a friend brought it up just to tell me never to go there. She shared the experience of a reliable source which, I have to admit, was a bit hard to believe.

But hard to believe or not, it’s a question that we parents shouldn’t be afraid to ask our children’s teachers. How do you encourage the children to share? How would you react when children become violent? Voice out your questions to quell all those unconfirmed rumors.

8. Are my kids watching Tom & Jerry during break time?
It’s hard to force schools to stop showing children TV programs from time to time, especially during the kids’ break time. Tom and Jerry, for example, is a cartoon show about a cat and a mouse always trying to outsmart each other, sometimes through violent means. There are also some racial implications in the show that might later on simply become acceptable to the children if they continue to be exposed to it.

There are many other better alternatives out there: Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and more. But the first step is to know what shows your children might be exposed to so that you can suggest better alternatives.

What other questions should parents ask teachers before deciding on a preschool? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Jackie is a mom blogger over at Bringinguptheparks.com. There she writes about her family’s life and adventures in East Asia.

Beijing on the surface doesn’t seem very kid-friendly, especially when you consider how few public playgrounds there are. But keep scratching that surface and you’ll discover that it’s not so unfriendly, either. Malls specifically have added breastfeeding rooms to accomodate us hardworking mamas.

So we’ve compiled a list to aid you on those days you just wanna shop and bring your little sweetheart along:

1. Parkview Green Fangcaodi has two nursing facilities, one on the ground floor and the other on B2. It is located at 9 Dongdaqiao Lu, LG 2, Chaoyang District (朝阳区 东大桥路9号). They are open daily from 10am-10pm and can be reached at 6500-5511.

2. Indigo Mall’s (颐堤港) nursing rooms can be found next to the toilets on every floor except on the ground floor. It is located at 18 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (朝阳区 酒仙桥路18). They are open daily from 10am-10pm. For more information, they can be reached at 8426-0898.

3. Solana (蓝色港湾)’s nursing room is located on Level M. It is located at 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang District (朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾国际商区). It is open daily from 10am-10pm, and can be reached at 5905-6565/68.

4. Galleria Mall’s nursing room is located on its second floor, to the right of the Uniqlo retail store. It has a comfortable seat, a diaper changing area and a socket for those who would like to charge their phones while tending to baby’s hungry tummy. It is located at 5 Shuguangxili Lu (northeast of Sanyuanqiao Bridge right outside Sanyuanqiao subway stop Exit B), Chaoyang District (朝阳区 曙光西里路5号（三元桥东北角，地铁10号线三元桥站B出口）. It is open from 10am-9.30pm on Mondays through Thursdays, at 10am-10pm on Fridays and Saturdays and from 10am-9.30pm on Sundays.
5758-1977

5. Molly Fantasy-goers will be happy to know that the Capital Mall in Taiyanggong also has its own nursing room practically next door! It is located on the third floor next to the toilet, but is very well-kept. It also has its own couch and a diaper changing area. Capital Mall is located at #12 Taiyanggong Middle Road Chaoyang District (北京市朝阳区太阳宫中路12号凯德MALL) and can be reached at 010-84150776.

6.Shin-Kong Place (新光天地) also has one on the 5th floor. It is located at 87 Jianguo Lu (beside China Central Place) Chaoyang District (朝阳区建国路87号 (华贸中心旁边). It is open daily from 10am-10pm and can be contacted at 6530 5888.

7. For those going shopping in Wangfujing, there’s a nursing room on the 5th floor Beijing APM (新东安商场（王府井APM)), b1 next to Starbucks. Beijing APM is located at 138 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District (东城区 王府井大街138号) and is open daily from 10am-10pm. For more information ring them up at 5817 6688.

8. Xin Ao Shopping Center (北京新奥购物中心)’s nursing room is located on Level B2 next to a barber shop called Li Fa (理发店). The mall is located at N0. 9 Hujing East Road and can be reached at 010-84371122 or 84371133.

9. The sassy Shuangan Department Store (双安商场) also has a nursing room on the 5th floor. When I called the customer service they couldn’t tell me where exactly the location was, except that it was in the southeast area. The mall is located at #38 East Street, North Third Ring Road, Haidian District (北京市海淀区北三环西路38号) and can be reached at 4001865588.

10. Another mall for you Haidian-ers is the Dreamport Mall (北五环的华润五彩城) which has a nursing room on every floor except for the first. It is located at #68 Qinghe Middle Street, Haidian District (海淀区清河中街68号) and for more inquiries they can be reached at 01066006666.

Mall information all from our sister site, The Beijinger and the all great Baidu.

When I was much, much younger, one of my most memorable things to do was to visit my grandparents from my mom’s side. They lived in a small village in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on a land that was given by the government. They were not rich in money, but oh so rich in love. And it was in this lovely home where I first discovered the squatty toilet.

Unlike many whose association of squat toilets are mostly of the sights and smells they’ve experienced in both public and private Chinese lavatories, mine was in a clean bathroom that always stayed clean, where the flush lever was very high and very far from the squatty toilet and where water didn’t bounce back so forcefully that your poop is caught in its tidal wave. It wasn’t until later on, when a school friend talked about her “China Experience” of yucky squat toilets and public bathrooms (which to be fair are sometimes gross in my other home country, the Philippines, as well) that I realized that squat toilets were considered ewww…

But take away the negative publicity the Chinese squat toilet is constantly marred with and—for now—instead of calling it the Squatty Toilet, let’s call it by its other name, the “Natural Position Toilet”. There’s a reason why it’s still being used all over the world, and today, its positive attributes are slowly being recognized.

Some History
Before the advent of the indoor plumbing in the 1800s, we all defecated by squatting. It was simply the most logical way—until the inventor Sir John Harington made a toilet with a seat for Queen Elizabeth, that is. A new “throne” built for royalty. It was much later on when finally, the regular household could also have their very own “thrones” thanks to the expertise of Thomas Crapper.

In ancient China, however, that process of release was a great equalizer, and what differentiated royalty from commoners was their location of release. One could be silly and say it’s yet another West-versus-East triumph, but I’d like to believe that the East simply valued the health benefits of pooping by squatting too much.

How Long Do You Stay on the Toilet?
On the surface, being able to sit on your toilet may seem like the most comfortable thing. Unfortunately, your colon will disagree with you on this.

Here is an idea of what happens to your colon when you take too long sitting:

When you sit on porcelain, your colon gets kinked. Defecating then becomes a chore—and sometimes a challenge— for your colon, possibly causing problems in the long run. But by squatting over the Natural Position toilet, the colon is loosened and your excrement comes out more easily.

Did you know, for example, that sitting on the toilet for too long, too often raises the chance of getting hemorrhoids? This is especially true for pregnant women, carrying the weight of their unborn child in them. Live Science explains it this way:

Swollen hemorrhoids are usually a result of applying too much pressure to the lower rectum. This may happen if you’re straining to have a bowel movement, which can occur during chronic diarrhea and constipation, according to the Mayo Clinic. It may also happen if you sit on the toilet too long because when you sit on the toilet, your anus relaxes, allowing the veins around to fill with blood, which then puts pressure on those veins.

Squatting, therefore, helps improve digestion and bowel function.

Other Benefits of the Squat Toilet
There are quite a few skills you can get from mastering the Chinese squat toilet. Some basic ones include great balance (don’t fall in!), flexibility (stretch those muscles!), and speed (flush then run!).

Another upside of using the squat toilet is that it’s supposed to be more hygienic—assuming at public toilets you can wash your hands, anyway. The idea is that with squat toilets, you don’t have to touch any toilet seats. After all, you don’t know what’s been there—and I’m not just referring to fingerprints.

There are also commercial benefits to guiding your child to master this squatty feat.

One is that you might see it again in your next expat destination. Contrary to popular belief, this sanitation fixture isn’t just limited to our beloved China, nor Asia for that matter. Western countries such as Morocco, Italy, and even France, have squat toilets as well. An acquaintance had even mentioned that the first time she saw a squat toilet was in a French bar!

Another is because, elsewhere, people are paying to get this healthier alternative.
One of the sources I’ve shared above is from an American company called Squatty Potty, that was also featured on Shark Tank, a TV program where entrepreneurs present their ideas or products to the “shark” investors slash hosts. Not only did it do well on the show and gain itself investors, this product has also been featured by companies like Men’s Health, The Huffington Post, the Washington Post America’s National Public Radio and it’s even been on The Doctors’ talk show!

Here’s how it fared on Shark Tank (via Youtube, VPN required):

Also, your children might encounter it again one day as the “toilet of the future”. Except this time, it’d be called the “Wellbeing Toilet”. Of course, it’ll have other features such as built-in screening systems to check waste matter for bio-markers or pregnancy, and more.

In the end, the health benefits outweigh the inconvenience the Squat Toilet may seem to bring.

Photos: Mighty Travels (Flickr) via Monkeyabroad.com, Squat Potty, Smithsonian Magazine

You’re in the middle of nowhere when your child asks you for some water. You reach into your purse to discover you left your Watsons drink in the cab that hurriedly sped away after getting his money. You turn to your husband to ask for his water but he tells you he forgot it in the cab as well. How you both left your water bottles in the cab beats me, so before you can argue with the author of your silly predicament about the strange story she’s put you in, your child reminds you of her still unquenched thirst. You breathe, focus, and then look around for the nearest convenience store.

Aha! You spot one—it’s just right across the street. You troop your family to the convenience store and there ask for a few bottles of water. The tummy-exposed, hole-ridden-couch-lying vendor grunts his displeasure that his TV watching has been interrupted for just a few kuai, and he grabs a few bottles and rolls it towards you without breaking eye contact with his show. “Six kuai,” he says in Chinese, although in your country that sounded more like a reprimand than a statement. Your child’s almost lifeless grumble brings you back to the present and as you grab the water bottles and slowly reach one out to your child one thought suddenly crosses your mind.

Wait, is this safe?

Your child reaches for the water bottle just as you pull your own arm back, mommy instincts suddenly going into overdrive. “Do you have anything else other than this?” You ask in your elementary Chinese as you try to return the bottles. The bottles are so soft they succumb almost effortlessly when you accidentally squeezed. You remember that recent post about Drinking Waters and Shower Filters and can’t help but gulp down worry.

“No, that’s all,” says the vendor, annoyed that you’re still there. Your daughter screams at you for keeping her precious water away from her, and she’s seconds away from jumping up and down and releasing her unforgiving Intense Scream of Hatred. You sigh with resignation. You give the rest of the bottles to your husband and open one for your child, who downs the whole bottle as if she had just walked through a desert.

And finally you do the one thing you’ve been meaning to do since this fiasco began. You look up to the heavens knowing I’m still typing your story and you go, “Why in the world is there only one type of bottled water in that man’s shop?!”

Hmm.

If you’ve been in the same situation once or twice before (not referring to the screaming-to-the-heavens part) or feel you might be faced with one during your expat years in the capital, then you’ve come to the right post. You’ll encounter a bunch of water bottles during your stay here in China, and yet won’t really have any way of knowing which is your best option unless you have a Xiaomi TDS and a little cup to test your water’s PPM. In other words, it’s just a load of 麻烦 (má fan). Fortunately dear reader you’ve got us, and we’re here to tell you whether or not you’ve chosen the right poison (err… drink).

To aid in our quest for the best on-the-go water option is the Xiaomi TDS Pen Water Quality Tester, a nifty device that looks quite similar to a pen on the outside but is secretly a water purity spy for us Beijing-based folks. The instructions are simple enough: take off the cap, press the ON button and dip it in the water in question. A few seconds is all it takes for the TDS Value to appear on the tiny screen.

You’ll want this number as low as possible, because a high value means that the water you’re about to drink might be high in dissolved solids or worse—not within drinkable ranges. If you’re wondering what “dissolved solids” here means, here’s how Xiaomi explains it:

So for this experiment I chose some popular water options amongst foreigners, some amongst locals, and some from one of the nearby newspaper stores. And then I list their respective TDS levels and their price per bottle. Unless stated otherwise, prices below are all Carrefour prices.

So here are the results:

1. Snow Mountain Mineral Water: Differs from water bottle to water bottle, but generally straddles between 238 to 271 ppm, (RMB 5 for 510ml)
I was very surprised to discover that this water’s TDS Value was so high, considering that it’s quite expensive and that there’s this famous movie company that uses this. To make sure it wasn’t just the problem wasn’t with the specific bottle I had bought, I decided to purchase another one at Carre Four. The number went lower, but really not by much. So for those who think that price always means quality, I’m not sure that’s the case here.

2. C’est bon Purified Drinking Water: 6 ppm (RMB 3 for 350ml in our neighborhood shop but just the same price as Nongfu elsewhere)
This is a popular choice amongst my friends since it costs almost the same as a bottle of Nongfu, which honestly surprises me considering it’s a foreign brand. Also, considering how low the ppm is it’s definitely a steal!

3. Nongfu Spring Water （Natural Stone Mineral Water): 35 ppm, (RMB 2.35 for 535ml)
I first met this version of Nongfu on the bullet train to Tianjin, when we visited the Aircraft Carrier Theme Park. I remember it costing around RMB 6 during that ride, and found it quite pricey at the time. But now that I’ve checked its ppm level I think it was the right choice. After all, I was buying it not just for myself but for my kids to drink as well.

4. Watsons Water (the green bottle): 1 ppm (RMB 2.40 for 400ml)
Watsons seems to be the number one option for expats, but my beef with this famous brand is that it’s quite pricey. I know, I know, you can’t put a price on health. But when you’re buying liters and liters of this you really need to ask yourself if spending that much on water really needs to be such a high priority (P.S. Check out that A++ ppm level!)

5. Hosanmi Drinking Natural Mineral Water (Deep Volcano Mineral Water): 122 ppm, (RMB 3.5 for 542ml)
I bought this water as well because it was one of the options at our neighborhood convenience store. It looks AND sounds cool – Deep Volcanic Mineral Water – whoa that’s got to be freaking healthy right? But I was surprised to see a high ppm level from this particular mineral water. Hm. Oh well. Looks were quite deceiving after all.

6. Nongfu Spring Water (the normal one): 66 ppm, (RMB 1.5 for 550ml)
A popular choice amongst many Chinese I know because, well, it’s Nongfu. It’s a big name, and even with its scandal years ago I still see a lot of people drinking it. Worse, many leave it in their cars which, when warmed, makes the bottles release antimony, a trace heavy metal that has been linked to several diseases.

7. Master Kong Bottled Water (Kangshi Fu) : 11ppm (RMB 8.8 for 550ml x 12 at Carrefour, RMB 2 for 550ml at the newspaper shop)
This honestly came as a big surprise to me, considering how cheap it is! This bottled water would have definitely never made my list of waters to drink had I not tested it.

8. Ganten Natural Mineral Water: 39 ppm (RMB 3.6 for 570ml)
This has been our choice water for awhile, not realizing that C’est bon was actually better in terms of ppm level! But it’s still good to know that our bottled water’s TDS gauge is still within the highest purity limit.

9. Bing Lu Purple Olympic brand: 22ppm (RMB 1.8 for 550ml)
Anything with the Olympic seal will catch a fan’s attention, and fortunately the TDS levels are within acceptable range.

10. Evergrande Spring: 87ppm (RMB 4 at the newspaper shop)
This is one of the three bottled waters I saw at the newspaper shop, and naturally I decided to also test this. For those who have to choose between this bottled water and Nongfu, the latter is still a better choice.

So the winner of the Water Purity contest is…. Watsons! But availability might be a problem especially for those traveling. In those cases, C’est bon, Ganten, and fortunately Master Kong bottled waters are great alternatives as well.

Photos: Xiaomi and Jackie Park

When China adopted the Open Door Policy in 1979, it not only opened its gates to the world but slowly also welcomed former outsiders to step into theirs. Bit by bit the Middle Kingdom expanded in terms of knowledge, but then a new challenge came—the inability to completely comprehend and communicate with this new world.

Fast forward to modern China, where learning this foreign language is not just an option anymore, but a must, especially if one wants to pass the dreaded Gaokao examinations. Language training options start from babyhood and its reach inescapable even in adulthood. More than just a means to understand and communicate with the outside world, English has become the new language of prestige and potential.

But believe it or not, Chinese parents also hate the stress this additional pressure brings, and embrace ways that make at least this one subject fun for their kids. While other subjects such as Math or Literature may need intense reading and almost a despairing mastery of the topics, foreign language learning can actually be quite fun, as proven by the many ingenious companies that have popped up catering to this market of parents bent on making language learning more enjoyable for their kids.

Other than sending one’s child to a bilingual or an international school, here are several ways Chinese kids are having fun learning a foreign language:

1. By Watching English Shows

Shoes kicked off right before flying onto the couch while Mom gets the remote to put on your favorite show—plus snacks. What could be more relaxing than that? Albeit in a foreign language, as long as its their favorite cartoon on, young kids welcome embrace the screen zombification. My daughter, for example, has been watching Chinese kiddie music videos via our Xiaomi Black Box, and not only does she love her shows, it’s actually really helped with her Mandarin vocabulary.

2. Have Fun with Songs.
There’s a reason classes for young children usually begin with songs. Here’s an excerpt from Community Play Things that explains it:

“When young children sing “Eensy Weensy Spider” or “Clean Up, Clean Up,” the underlying steady pulse of the song combined with the active singing pushes the brain to remember the next part of the song, and the next, until we reach the end. This begins as “rote memory” (short term) but does evolve to conscious thought and long-term memory as children mature and songs that have meaning are sung repeatedly by individuals.”

But another reason is that simple, happy songs like these allows a child to attach a positive feeling to the memory of when it was sung. My older daughter, for example, loves singing the Chinese song about two strange tigers, one without the tail and one without the ear, because it’s one of the first Chinese songs she mastered with me and the fact that these tigers are so strange! We’ve been singing other Chinese songs as well since then, but she still asks for the Tiger song the most.

3. Sing Your Heart Out.

One advice I gave my friend before when she asked me how to encourage her child to like English was to expose her to English at least thirty minutes a day. Like my previous example, I suggested singing her favorite song with her child. She followed my advice and burned a CD full of her favorite songs. A month after, I happened to be riding the car with her and her daughter when suddenly the start of a Lady Gaga song came on. Minutes later we were all singing, “A po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-poker face.” They sang the rest of the song while I was grinning nervously on the sidelines, a bit worried at the effect of my advice. My friend’s then-toddler-now-primary-schooler likes the song but fortunately has moved on to new music preferences more befitting her age.

4. Lip Sync Movies/Tv Shows
Aiming for Hollywood? This could be your kid’s stepping stone. Children can become their favorite characters by joining classes that allow kids to speak their lines. It allows them to practice the target language and brag that they have their own movie teasers. Here’s one done by my friend’s daughter about a cat finally achieving its dream.

6. Join a Choir

Photo: Top English World

Parents who want to take their children’s singing career beyond the four walls of their bathrooms can consider enrolling them in an English choir. This school for example has choir classes especially targeting children who want to develop their passion for singing—except it’s done through English songs.

7. Join Language Camps
“Language Camps” usually happen during the summer or winter holidays, and for older kids there are one day field trips or even overnight excursions with native English teachers leading the group as a selling point. For those not coerced into joining by their very over-proactive parents, trips like these are great opportunities to practice the target language without constant parental guidance.

8. Travel
I studied in a Chinese school when I was much younger, and to motivate me to study Mandarin more diligently (I was a lazy kid) my mother would tell me of the opportunities I would have to use that language during our travels. I regret not being a more obedient child, but it worked in favor of my more diligent friends back then.
But my mother, determined on making a Chinese out of me, decided to send me to China (alone) to study Mandarin for a year. Did it work? Of course it did. And— honestly speaking— it was one of the best years of my life.

9. Playing Games in English

One way some Chinese encourage children to learn English is by letting them play English games on their phones. Interestingly the website my friend usually visits with her children is Starfall, a resource I also used to use during my ESL-teaching days. It turns out that our little ESL secrets back then aren’t so secret after all.

What I love about these methods is that they’re universal and doesn’t have to be limited to learning just English (except maybe for the Lady Gaga part). For those looking to expose their children to a foreign language, why not try out the Chinese way?

On the outskirts of Tianjin is a theme park that was built around the first Russian Kiev, a Soviet aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1993 and then transformed into a tourist attraction. I’m talking about the Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park, a surprisingly not-so-popular destination in Tianjin!

I decided to read the reviews to check if it was legit, and fortunately it was. And when I suggested that my family visit an aircraft carrier theme park, they were all just as surprised as I was that such a place could exist!

The distance might be one reason why it’s not so popular. It takes about an hour by car to travel there from Tianjin’s city proper, more if the roads are congested. An Uber/Didi ride to the theme park will cost about RMB 400. The cheaper option would be to take the subway until Tanggu, and then hail a cab from there. Interestingly it wasn’t on any of the local tour guides’ suggested places (again most likely due to the distance and the price).

We were still quite far away when the park’s castle-entrance loomed in the distance. As it grew bigger and bigger, my family and I were just wowed.

The castle also served as a ticketing office, and later on we learned that first time entry is a whooping RMB220, accompanied by the theme park’s very own passport. Fortunately it gets cheaper with each succeeding entry: RMB 180 for the second visit, RMB 150 for the third, and—after three years—free, because that means we qualify for the park’s “Tourist Green Card” program. After touring the Kiev later on, each of us received a photo that we had to stick on the photo page of our passport.

Before reaching the aircraft carrier visitors go through the Russian street, where random dancing Russian ladies entertain the curious and roadside snacks and drinks to satisfy the hungry. There’s also a gift shop selling Russian products.

As expected, the aircraft carrier was huge! As we neared the warship I couldn’t help but wonder about its history and the fights it had seen. Like an old grandparent the ship sat there at the dock waiting for visitors to come and visit, to bring life to its once exciting walls.

We were offered a translation device for a fee, which we gently refused. Then off we went to discover what the insides of an aircraft carrier was.

I explored as much as I could, visiting the control rooms and seeing navigation devices I’ve only seen on TV. And look—a machine that teaches you how to steer the ship!

The deck was probably my favorite part of the whole ship, where I got to see a helicopter and fighter jets (whether or not they’re real I’ll leave it up to you to tell me).

I’m looking forward to when my girls grow up and are just as curious about this magnificent ship as I am. This is one place that’s fun to explore with the family!

The Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme is located at Bagua Beach, Binhai New District in Tianjin. You can also learn more about them on their site here.

One of my guilty pleasures during my stint as a stay-at-home mom in Seoul was to go kids-cafe-hopping. Many a mom would seek out kids cafes to have even a short break, passing off their children to the in-house staff to play with as we enjoyed that rejuvenating cup of coffee while it was still hot. In a city where having an ayi was a luxury, kids cafes were a godsend!

With so many Koreans in Beijing, it’s no surprise that this kids cafe culture would slowly find its way to our beloved capital. And fortunately for those who live in Korea Town, there’s Exciting Kids Land at Wangjing’s Pano City mall.

The recipe for a typical Korean kids cafe is simple enough. First, pour loads of fun into at least half the space where kids can run, jump, explore and even create . Second, prepare a comfy space where tired parents and guardians can simply sit down and relax. Third, cook up delicious meals that are tasty enough to fill the little ones’ tummies but healthy enough to rid parents of any guilt related to unhealthy food. Fourth, stir up a batch of great coffee and drinks to help parents relax. Fifth, top it off with baby-friendly facilities like a breastfeeding room and a toddler toilet. Last but not the least, situate a CCTV right in the dining area, so that guardians can stay put and still feel secure knowing where their kids are.

So yes, let your children indulge in that illusion that this playdate was for them. Don’t smile too much when they run off lest they discover this ploy that you’ve formed. Watch them zoom out of your sight and reappear as little characters on the screen in front of you.

And finally, enjoy your well-deserved break.

Exciting Kids Land (兴兴童童）is on the 3rd floor of Pano City Mall in Wangjing (北京市朝阳区阜通西大街新荟城购物中心3层). They are open every day from 10AM to 9:30PM. (13552137706)
Entrance fees are RMB 128 for two hours on weekdays, RMB 138 for two hours on weekends and RMB 600 for 10 hours. Their one month unlimited weekday access is RMB 650 and 900 for general unlimited access.