At just 16 years old, Tony Ding is already thinking about how to grow lacrosse in China. A junior in high school who balances his passion for diabetic biology studies with his love for the sport, he recently launched Laxmeter, a website designed to connect players across the country and help build a community around a game still finding its footing in Beijing.

A former student at Beijing World Youth Academy, Tony’s own journey began only three years ago when he entered high school in the US as a freshman. He played thirds lacrosse and was, by his own admission, terrible at it. It took him a week just to learn to successfully catch and throw the ball. But despite the steep learning curve, he fell in love with the fast pace, the aesthetic motion of a well-aimed shot, and the way the varsity team celebrated a win where everyone sprinted onto the field to high-five their goalie. For Tony, the beauty of lacrosse lies in that tension between fierce body contact and delicate stick movement.

With lacrosse set to return to the Olympics in 2028, he saw an opportunity.

The sport is growing in China, but there’s no platform bringing players together. When his parents suggested that hiring a professional to build one would be too expensive, Tony took matters into his own hands. Drawing on what he learned in AP Computer Science and a post-AP data structures course, he programmed Laxeter himself.

Right now, the site features a rankings system meant to motivate more players to participate in games. But his ambitions are bigger: he wants to eventually rank players by stars and help them build profiles that college coaches can see.

His vision doesn’t stop online. Tony is now working to establish a school lacrosse league among Beijing’s international school communities. He’s calling it BALL (the Beijing Academia Lacrosse League), and he’s already reaching out to schools to invite them in.

The plan is to start with a 3v3 format and scale up to a more competitive Tier I league for players with real talent and drive. For anyone interested in starting, he recommends BUX Lacrosse Club and the Beijing Lacrosse Association as great places to begin, filled with passionate athletes and professional coaches ready to help.

For Tony, this moment matters. “This is a pre-Olympic stage of Lacrosse (as I would like to call it), so every player is a pioneer. They’re not just learning a sport—they’re building a community from the ground up. That sense of ownership makes their journey deeply personal, which not only creates future influencers in the lacrosse community to publicize this sport we love more, but also presents opportunities (colleges, national teams, branding, etc.)” says Tony. The story of lacrosse in Beijing, he believes, is ultimately one about belonging and identity.

When asked what advice he’d give to kids who want to pick up a stick, he quotes his high school’s varsity goalie, John: “Lacrosse is an easy sport to pick up, but a hard sport to excel in.” What matters most, Tony says, are the friends and connections you make along the way. Whether you’re playing in big games, tossing the ball with a neighbor, or doing wall-ball with music in your ears, you’ll find yourself improving with a smile on your face. And then he adds John’s signature send-off: “Let’s go hit the wall.”

For kids in Beijing who want to give the sport a try, it’s easy. “I am working to create lacrosse teams at every high school that shows interest in this sport. Not only can they come to play at BUX lacrosse club, but they can also aid me and convince their teachers about including this sport in their school. We have professional coaches who are happy to show up and teach you the tricks!”

Inspired? We know we are! If you’re a teen with an incredible achievement, let us know! Get in touch with Mina Yan via email at minayan@beijing-kids.com or WeChat (ID: Wilhelmina87).

Images: Tony Ding

Move over, traditional career guides. For the next generation navigating a world of limitless career possibilities, the well-meaning advice to “follow your passion” can feel overwhelming without a map. Now, a wave of adults with truly fascinating jobs are throwing that map wide open. They’re stepping out of their labs, studios, and field sites to share the real, unfiltered career advice they wish they’d had – not just about how to land the job, but how to build a life of curiosity, resilience, and purpose. This is more than career day; it’s a mentorship movement designed to inspire the innovators, problem-solvers, and dreamers of tomorrow.

Search the keyword #careerday to find more articles like this.

My name is Francesca Hanshing, from Chile. I’m the ‘Master Alchémykonista’ at Velveteen’s Secret Potions (aka VSP)—which is really just our funky way of saying Head Potioneer. My alchemy is customization: I transform personal stories and rare ingredients into fragrant potions and nourishing body-menjunjes, all to make our customers feel like the Very Special People they are.

Could you walk me through a typical day or week in your role? What are your primary responsibilities?

A typical week for me is a fluid cycle of three core acts: brewing our signature potions and menjunjes as the in-house alchémykonista; shaping that craft into our brand’s funky narrative as the lead storyteller for all marketing and content; and building real-world magic with the community through events and direct engagement. These roles constantly overlap, fueling long but deeply fulfilling days. The drive comes from knowing I’m not just managing tasks—I’m curating the entire living ecosystem of VSP, which makes the work feel less like a job and more like a continuous, creative flow.

What is the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your work? What problems do you get to solve? On the flip side, what are the most significant challenges or stressful aspects of your job?

For over a decade, we’ve built a community of individuals across China who consciously choose our handcrafted potions over mass-produced alternatives. The most profound fulfillment comes from this. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that in a sea of sameness, someone finds a sense of identity, care, and magic in what I offer. My key problem to solve is maintaining our standard of magical, consistent, and ethically-sourced materials while navigating a supply chain where local supplier reliability is our biggest variable. But the triumph is that every time we solve it, we’re not just saving a product run—we’re upholding our promise. We’re proving that a small brand, built on real connections and adaptability, can deliver something genuinely special that a giant corporation never could.

How did you get to where you are today? You can talk about your educational route, pivotal moments, unplanned detours, and any other decisions that you find important.

My journey to becoming a Master Alchémykonista was born from personal necessity. When I moved to China 16 years ago, I was a loyal devotee of global luxury skincare brands. Ironically, they were failing me—causing significant skin reactions instead of solutions. I became my own first and most urgent client.

At the time, I was on a more conventional path, leveraging my MBA to run an international trading company, specializing in sourcing and market research for others. That detour became my greatest asset. I simply redirected my professional toolkit inward. I began conducting deep market and ingredient research for the beauty industry here in Asia, not for a client, but for myself. That’s how I found the solutions that the mass market couldn’t provide me.

That was the pivotal turn: realizing the solution wasn’t just to be a better consumer, but to become the creator. I founded VSP. What started as a personal remedy has grown into my full-time mission of business and product development.

Developing VSP has been the longest and richest learning curve of my life. It taught me that this work is not alchemy in a vacuum. It’s alchemy in context. Building a brand in China—especially one that challenges the dominant ‘cosmetic fixing’ beauty standard with our philosophy of ‘corpo-curator,’ or curating the body’s vitality—requires immense patience, constant adaptation, and relentless creativity. The real magic isn’t just in the mixing bowl; it’s in steadfastly offering a different, more caring narrative in a very noisy market.

Perfume

Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and give one piece of advice to your teenage self about work and life, what would it be?

“Fran, your greatest source of authority will not come from fitting into a predefined role, but from the unique map of problems you’ve had to solve for yourself. Don’t see your sensitivities, your frustrations, or the things that don’t work for you as personal failures. See them as clues. They are the very signs pointing you toward the work only you can do—the space where you will eventually build a bridge for others who share your same quiet frustrations. Your niche isn’t a limitation; it’s your compass.”

Images: Francesca Hanshing

The festival season has arrived, bringing with it bright lights, festive gatherings, excitement, and hope for many families. For some children and adults, especially those with sensory sensitivities or neurodivergent profiles, the same celebratory elements can pose hidden challenges.
In this article, I’d like to explore how to honour the joy and traditions of the festival season while caring for sensory needs and well-being.

I’ve always loved the festival season. Growing up, winter celebrations were full of excitement, colour, and connection. Visiting family and attending multiple social gatherings over a short period of time felt novel and exciting for me. For some children, however, the same lights, sounds, and smells that embody festive joy can easily feel overwhelming, and that’s worth exploring.

What Makes the Festival Season Sensory-Heavy?

Holidays often combine many sensory inputs: bright decorative lights, music, crowds, new foods and smells, textured clothing or scratchy outfits, and lots of new experiences. These can overwhelm children whose sensory systems are more sensitive than average.

A change in routine, more events, altered meal or sleep times, and increased travel, all add unpredictability, which can add stress on top of sensory load.

When many of these triggers coincide (lights + noise + smells + change + social demands), the “sensory storm” can feel intense, even for children without a formal diagnosis of sensory issues.

With that in mind, it helps to look more closely at what exactly makes holiday environments so sensory-intense.

The Cost of Overload: Stress, Dysregulation & Emotional Impact

Sensory overload or disrupted routines during holidays can lead to emotional or behavioral stress: irritability, fatigue, difficulty focusing, meltdowns, or emotional dysregulation.

For children who rely on routine and predictability, unexpected changes like irregular mealtimes or unfamiliar surroundings can be especially hard.

Over time, repeated exposure to overwhelming stimuli without support can make holidays less joyful and even anxiety-provoking for children (and by extension, for families).

Fortunately, there are practical steps families can take ahead of time to reduce the intensity and smooth out the experience.

Preparing Ahead: Tools to Build a Sensory-Friendly Holiday

 Use visual or written holiday schedules (on the fridge or in a calendar) to map out what’s happening – visits, events, downtime – so children know what to expect.

Talk with children in advance about upcoming plans: who’s coming, where you’ll go, what might be loud or busy and giving them a chance to mentally prepare.

Let children have input: ask what traditions or parts of celebrations they’d enjoy versus what might feel like too much. This empowers them and reduces pressure.

Then, when celebrations are underway, these preparations become invaluable anchors for children navigating busy holiday days.

During Festival Events: Strategies to Manage Sensory Overload

Create a “sensory-friendly kit”: noise-cancelling headphones or ear defenders, sunglasses (if lights are bright), comfort items (soft blanket, favourite toy), fidget toys, and familiar snacks to help a child self-regulate.

Designate a “quiet spot” or retreat space (at home or at a gathering) where your child can go if overwhelmed. Make it clear there’s no pressure to stay in noisy or crowded areas.

Allow agency and choice: give permission to skip parts of events, arrive late or leave early, or take breaks. Flexibility is more important than “doing it all.”

If travelling or attending multiple events, try to preserve small parts of routine where possible – consistent bedtimes, familiar meals or snacks, downtime to decompress.

Of course, not every tradition needs to stay the same across the festival season, sometimes adjusting expectations makes space for real connection.

Adapting Traditions: Flexibility Over Perfection

It’s okay, and often kinder, to rethink traditions: shorten celebrations, pick simpler or quieter activities, or skip events that feel too overwhelming.

Focus on what truly matters for your family: comfort, connection, calm. A smaller, calmer holiday may offer deeper meaning than a frantic, overstimulating “perfect holiday.”

Use this as an opportunity to create new family rituals, ones that reflect your child’s needs and bring joy in ways that feel manageable.

This kind of flexibility often works best when paired with clear communication and a shared understanding among everyone involved.

Encouraging Empathy, Understanding & Communication

Talk openly with extended family, friends, and guests about your child’s sensory needs, share what helps (quiet space, headphones, breaks), and what may feel overwhelming.

Teach or prepare simple ways your child can signal they need a break, for example: “I need a quiet moment,” “can we sit over there?” so they don’t have to explain in stressful situations.

Reinforce the idea that comfort and inclusion matter more than meeting external expectations. Families succeed when all members feel safe, seen, and supported.

With awareness, empathy, and a willingness to adapt, it becomes clear that holiday success isn’t about doing it all – it’s about what works for your family.

Redefining Success

Festivals don’t have to be “perfect” or look like picture-book celebrations to be meaningful. What counts is connection, comfort, understanding, and care.

When families combine planning, flexibility, empathy, and attention to sensory needs – holidays can become inclusive, calm, and genuinely joyful for all members, regardless of neurotype or sensitivity.

When the lights go up and plans begin to pile on across this festival season, take a moment to pause. What does holiday joy really mean for your family this year? Maybe all you need is a quiet corner, a familiar snack or routine, or a shorter get-together to find that magic.

This winter break, move beyond the ordinary and unlock a world of adventure and discovery with our specially curated winter camps for kids. Designed to ignite passion and foster new skills, our programs offer a perfect blend of exhilarating outdoor fun, immersive cultural experiences and hands-on creative learning – all against the dynamic backdrop of China’s capital. Let your child turn the winter months into a memorable journey of growth, friendship and endless possibility.

Check out #wintercamp on jingkids to find info on the latest camps this winter.

ClubFootball’s Winter Cam

This winter, warm up with football fun inspired by three of the world’s greatest football nations. Brazil: flair, creativity, and samba-style skills! England: teamwork, discipline, and Premier League energy! Spain: passing precision, control and total football! Led by UEFA-qualified international coaches, each session brings a new challenge – from fast footwork to smart playmaking – all in a safe, friendl,y and confidence-building environment. Train. Learn. Play. Enjoy the world’s game-the ClubFootball way!

What can the kids expect to learn?

Coaches ‘Introduce’ the day’s theme through a fun warm-up and technical activity where kids learn the theme’s fundamental skills and techniques unopposed. Players then ‘Explore’ the theme in more detail in semi-opposed practices and learn to use the skills under pressure. In the last part of the session, players use their acquired skills to ‘Express’ themselves in a competitive environment with small-sided matchplay.

Over the course of the week, the country-based curriculum progresses players from the individual skills required to win their 1v1 duels through to working with teammates in small-sided 4v4 matches! Each day, players are encouraged to work together to achieve common objectives through a range of fun and creative games and holiday activities that make kids think on their feet, as per the club’s coaching philosophy

Basic information:
Price
DCB Camp: RMB 1,500 for three half-days; RMB 2,400 for three full days.
ISB Camp: RMB 3,200 for four full days.

Dates
Dulwich College of Beijing Camp: Dec 17-19 ^half-day camp (Kindergarten-Grade 1), 9.30am-noon; Dec 17-19 ^full-day camp (Grade 2-Grade 5) 9.30am-3.40pm
International School of Beijing Camp (1): Jan 2-5 (Grade 1-Grade 5 only), 9.30am-3.30pm
International School of Beijing Camp (2): Jan 6-9 (Grade 1-Grade 5 only) 9.30am-3.30pm

Sign-up deadline
Dulwich Camp: Dec 10
ISB camps: one week before the camps start (Dec 26 and 30)

Contact Information
ClubFootball Shunyi Representative: 138 1048 9532
WeChat QR code:

Images: ClubFootball

Forget the dusty gyms and repetitive sideline chants. In Beijing, kids are trading traditional after-school activities for the high-flying, gravity-defying world of competitive cheerleading. This isn’t your older cousin’s pep squad; it’s a dynamic fusion of elite gymnastics, powerful dance, and theatrical performance, all set to pulsating music and led by the trusty team of instructors at Flips and Kicks.

In the heart of a city known for its ancient traditions, these young athletes are being trained in a sport that is way cooler, far more intense and radically different than anything you’d imagine.

Can you tell us a bit about Flips and Kicks?

Gladly. We have been active on the Beijing market since 2012, working with the majority of the big international schools, such as The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun and Shunyi (BSB SLT and Shunyi), International School of Beijing (ISB), the Canadian School of Beijing (CISB) and Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) to name a few. We’ve also worked with many of the major hotels in Beijing, like the Kerry Centre and Pudong Shangri-La.

We focus on FUN in sports. We believe that if you enjoy sports, you naturally create a positive attitude toward physical activity and the social aspects that come with it – something very important in today’s society.

We focus on gymnastics, martial arts (karate and BJJ) and cheerleading for our own programs. In addition to our own programs, we collaborate with international schools for their ASA programs, where we offer a wide range of activities such as multi-sports (most likely our biggest program), dance, cheerleading, karate, and Brazilian jujitsu.

Currently, we mainly work with ISB and WAB, and we have had a fantastic and positive working relationship with them for over 13 years (time goes fast!). On top of this, we have year-round camps for kids with different themes like sports, theater, stunt work, Dog & Agility camp, Astrid Lindgren’s world with Pippi Longstocking, etc.

What classes do you offer, and what age are the kids who attend?

We offer a wide range of services and classes:

ASA Programs:
– Karate
– Brazilian Jujitsu
– Multi-Sports
– Dance
– Cheerleading
– Action Movie ASA

Our Own Programs:
– Gymnastics at WAB – Mondays 6pm-7.30pm, age 6-15 (divided into age groups)
– Gymnastics at WAB – Sundays 9am-12.30pm, age 3-15 (divided into age groups)
– Karate at ISB – Saturdays 10am-2pm, age 3-adult
– Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at ISB – Tuesdays & Fridays 6pm-9pm (Family BJJ, Kids, and Adults)
– Cheerleading at WAB – Mondays:
• 6pm-7pm (ages 6-11)
• 7pm-8pm (ages 12-15)

In addition, we have year-round camps: Multi-Sports Camps, Dog & Agility Camp, Action Movie Camp, Beach Volleyball Camp, and Astrid Lindgren Camps (drama, acting, storytelling, music).

We’re so excited to hear that you’ve started a cheerleading class! Tell us a bit about it.

Thank you. We are excited as well. We have started cheerleading before, but due to the slow market after Covid and some schedule conflicts, we put it on hold for a while. On request from parents and the community, we have now started up again.

From experience, it takes about six months to get a good program off the ground. But we restarted the program because the parents specifically requested it, so we’ll see how it goes. Some other international schools have a strong cheerleading foundation, and we look forward to catching up with them.

WAB also has a very strong international and American community, so we are happy to offer our services to them. Starting in January, we will also offer cheerleading in the WAB ASA program.

How is the cheerleading class different from gymnastics?

To be honest, they go hand in hand. Much of the skill set is the same – good coordination, flexibility and strength. What you learn in gymnastics you can use in cheerleading and vice versa.

We focus on synchronized cheerleading with and without pompoms, combined with basic acrobatic skills. Pumping up the music and pumping up the crowd is always fun. The competitive aspects between schools are also fun and something we can develop together with the international schools in the near future. That would be very cool.

Cheerleading and gymnastics always do warm-up games together, and it’s always a BLAST.

Are there any misconceptions about cheerleading classes?

I think there are misconceptions about almost all sports, to be honest.

The standard scenario is you try a few classes and quickly conclude it’s “no fun.” But like with many skill sets, it doesn’t become fun until you feel comfortable with your own abilities.

A stereotype for both gymnastics and cheerleading is that they are mainly girl-dominated sports. Boys love gymnastics, to be honest – they just need a good coach and a positive training environment. The same goes for cheerleading.

See it as something fun, something that keeps you healthy and fit, and, most importantly, something where you can have FUN.

What’s the most fun part of cheer practice for the kids?

The benefits are many. New and old friendships are important. Sports should be a social activity, not a task. Team and school spirit matter.

In cheerleading, you have three important parts:

1. Self-development and training
2. Team spirit
3. School spirit

You train to bring energy to both the team and the audience. But like everything worth doing, it’s hard work, too.

If a kid has zero gymnastics/cheerleading experience, do you recommend they start?

ABSOLUTELY. We are open to everyone who wants to train and have fun in a positive environment with top-qualified coaches. You can have zero experience and still develop very positively – both physically and personally.

When are the classes, and how long is each session?

For cheerleading, each class is one hour.

– Ages 6-11: 6pm-7pm
– Ages 12-15: 7pm-8pm

The classes are held in the ES Gym, next to the gymnastics hall.

How can our readers get in touch?

Contact Coach Fredrik to book a tester class or get more information.

Website: www.flipsandkicksplus.com
Phone/WeChat: 13718462044
Email: info@flipsandkicksplus.com

Do you offer a free trial class for kids?

All our programs include a free tester class.

For jingkids readers, we offer a 10 percent discount for all our classes for the next block, as well as for our winter camps.

Offer valid until Dec 15.

Images: Flips and Kicks, Freepik

In many international schools, inclusion has become a core value thoughtfully woven into classrooms, counseling offices, learning support programs and staff conversations. We invest time and energy into ensuring that every student can learn, thrive and participate fully in academic life. This work is essential, and it has transformed countless children’s school experiences for the better. Yet in our commitment to building inclusive school communities, we sometimes forget that children do not only belong to schools. They belong to families, neighborhoods, cultural groups, recreation spaces and the broader local community of Beijing. If we want true inclusion, our efforts must extend beyond the classroom walls and into the world our students live in every day.

One of the most common challenges families of children with disabilities share is that school feels inclusive, but the rest of life does not. I recall a parent telling me that her son, who thrives in his school support program, is still met with confusion in the public park when he uses sign-language to say hello. Another family mentioned to me how their daughter is welcomed during school group work but feels ignored in her apartment courtyard because other children don’t quite know how to interact with someone who communicates with the help of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. These stories remind us that inclusion is not a policy. It is a skill set, a mindset and a community habit. When the environment changes, the responsibility to build bridges returns to all of us.

Creating inclusive spaces is possible anywhere, and often it begins with the smallest gestures. In school, a teacher might pair students intentionally, so every child experiences meaningful collaboration. At home, a parent might model patience by explaining a sibling’s sensory needs and demonstrating how to be supportive. In a community park, a passerby might choose to smile warmly at a child having a difficult sensory moment rather than staring or stepping away. These everyday micro-moments of understanding and connection are as powerful as any formal program; they shift the culture toward belonging.

Inclusion beyond the classroom also means advocating for accessible public spaces, culturally responsive community programs and opportunities for individuals with diverse needs to participate in local life. Our city has made significant strides with metro signage improvements and sensory-friendly museum programs, and adaptive club and sport initiatives are growing. But community inclusion is not built by governments alone; it is strengthened by neighbors who choose empathy, peers who choose curiosity, and community members who choose patience rather than judgment.

As educators, parents, and community members, we share a responsibility to carry the principles of inclusion with us wherever we go. The classroom can teach empathy, but the city tests it. The school can model acceptance, but the community completes it. Inclusion is most powerful when it becomes a lived experience rather than a school-based concept.

So, on behalf of SENIA-Beijing, we would like to leave you with this question, which you are invited to sit with, reflect on and act upon: Who in your daily life, at school, at home or somewhere in our Beijing community, needs you to open a door, extend a hand or offer understanding today?

If you would like to join our community, all community members – educators, professionals and families are warmly invited to our upcoming SENIA-Beijing Fall 2025 Conference on Nov 28, 2025, 8.30am-4.30pm. Visit https://www.seniachapters.org/beijing/#conference for details and registration.

Images: SENIA

Move over, traditional career guides. In an era where jobs can involve managing virtual economies, designing sustainable cities or programming artificial intelligence, the classic career path isn’t kids’ only option. For the next generation navigating a world of limitless career possibilities, the well-meaning advice to “follow your passion” can feel overwhelming without a map. Now, a wave of adults with truly fascinating jobs are throwing that map wide open. They’re stepping out of their labs, studios, and field sites to share the real, unfiltered career advice they wish they’d had – not just about how to land the job, but how to build a life of curiosity, resilience and purpose. This is more than career day; it’s a mentorship movement designed to inspire the innovators, problem-solvers and dreamers of tomorrow.

Search the keyword #careerday to find more articles like this.

Tell us your name, and give us the elevator pitch about your job.

My name is Christian François, and I work online with expat parents and professionals from every corner of the world, helping them become CEO of their health, crush their fitness and weight management goals while navigating an over-productive work-life schedule.

Could you walk us through a typical day or week in your role? What are your primary responsibilities?

As a coach, my top responsibility is to create customized nutrition-workout-lifestyle programs for my clients, to hold them accountable along the way and to be a support system for whenever they need a bit of a push.

Now that I’m self-employed, I wear quite a few different hats in a day on top of being a coach.

I usually start my days with going through what I like to call “priority messages” – meaning that I pick up any interactions with my current clients from the day before or anything that came in and that requires direct attention and a response ASAP (e.g., if one client has a brunch event coming up, I need to give them the tips they need to navigate all the yummy food properly).

After that, I reply to any sort of important inquiries or interactions that come through social media.

Then I spend about one to two hours studying something (it’s always either a health/nutrition course or an entrepreneurship course), which gives me some fresh ideas and perspective to attack the next part of my day: social media marketing/content prep.

I spend about one to two hours planning, writing or shooting content for social media. I post about two to four times a day).By the time I finish with this, it’s usually noon or afternoon, and that’s when I go back to wearing my coach hat and do client check-ins, either via video calls or via messages.

The rest of the day after that is usually sporadic. I usually either go back to studying or prepping content.

This entire flow usually [goes]from 8am to 9pm [on weekdays]and on the weekends from 8am to 1pm.

What is the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your work? What problems do you get to solve? On the flip side, what are the most significant challenges or stressful aspects of your job?

The most rewarding part of being a coach is definitely to see the person achieve their goals, mostly after struggling and failing at it several times in the past, then to see them graduate out of my program and being able to sustain their results on their own without needing my help anymore.

I also enjoy building relationships. Most of my clients are in the age range of 40 to 50, have very interesting stories and successful careers, and I get to learn a lot from them through our interactions.

To be able to do something I am passionate about, and have freedom of time and location when it comes to work, and live quite a comfortable life as a result of my daily work is something else I am very grateful for as well.

The biggest challenges and stressful aspects were when I first started. I did not have much experience and knowledge. So I wouldn’t know how to work with special cases such as people who have metabolic and hormone problems, how to create workout plans for people who only have 30mins per day to train, how to help high executives who have to go out and drink with partners several times a week, etc.

Over time, I have learned to navigate every potential situation someone goes through, which has made the coaching process way more enjoyable.

How did you get to where you are today? You can talk about your educational route, pivotal moments, unplanned detours and any other decisions that you find important.

To make it really short, let’s say that dropping out of a PhD to go full-time into fitness and nutrition coaching was the last thing that my mom wanted to hear back in 2020.

I had a bachelor’s degree in hotel and tourism management, came to China for a master’s in business administration, then went for a PhD in management science and engineering (right in the middle of Covid and when online learning started becoming a thing).

I wasn’t enjoying the PhD, while my growing passion for fitness has already opened a few doors in terms of opportunities to work full-time.

So, I eventually sat my parents down (they were stuck here for two years, unable to go back home in Madagascar due to the lockdown situation) and told them that I was going to quit the studies.

So, I started working full-time as an in-person trainer, switched between different gyms, while on the side I was also working on my online coaching program and slowly growing it.

In early 2024, the online coaching was doing so well that I felt confident to let go of all my personal training jobs, start my own company and work fully for myself and remotely.

And here we are today.

I’m grateful that my parents trusted me and gave me their support because looking back at all that I have achieved since then, I truly think that quitting the studies was the best decision that I have taken.

I did not despise or hate studying, but I think my passion for fitness was to big for me to neglect.

Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and give one piece of advice to your teenage self about work and life, what would it be?

The first one is advice that I have gotten from my father while he was tearfully saying goodbye and getting ready to board the plane to leave my home country: “Dream, see and think big.”

When in doubt, feeling tired, not confident, unmotivated, faced with big decisions, remembering those words [has]always been a great way to re-center myself and dare to take steps outside of my comfort zone.

The second advice is a habit that I have always adopted since being a teenager: “Never spend a day [without]studying or watching something related to what you love.”

Since I stepped into the gym back in 2016 when I was looking for a way to make my ex miss me (true story, lol), I never spent a day without reading or learning something about “nutrition-fitness-health.” This is also what made things go smoothly when I decided to drop out of school and work full-time, because at that point, I already had a couple of professional certifications that would qualify me to be a coach. I truly think if you spend a day without at least absorbing some sort of new or even repetitive information in your brain, then you are wasting a lot of potential.

Images: Christian François 

When I was young, I never made the connection between food and how the fuel I put in my body made me feel differently; I grabbed whatever was convenient and tasty. I was not attentive to, nor did I really care, how different types of food fueled me differently and made me feel. It seemed to me that the foods I wanted were always sodas and cookies, while my parents, on the other hand,  would “coerce” me to eat vegetables and other foods they deemed to be healthy. To me, it was a battle between having a tasty snack and the responsibility to be healthy. I thought food was “either-or”: It was either “good” or “bad,” “healthy” or “unhealthy.” I did not grasp the concept of balance, but truthfully speaking, as kids, most of us did not go that far to scrutinize our food choices.

However, when I grew more aware of what I was eating, I started to realize the complexity behind food. Food is more than just fuel. I started to notice how having carbohydrates, proteins and fats on my plate fueled my mind better for an upcoming test, how fruits and fast-digesting carbohydrates energized me for sporting events, and also how food carries emotional and cultural weight. That realization opened up a new way of looking at food. It occurred to me that satisfying food and health do not have to be sacrificed for each other but rather can coexist in harmony.

I have come to learn that being aware and intentional about “what makes you feel good” does not mean restriction; it’s not about cutting our entire food groups or avoiding desserts, because what is “good” is not only about what is nutritionally good but what is emotionally good. When you start to understand balance and what is behind your food, food is no longer restrictive but empowering.

My awareness of this incentivized me to start Kitchen & Nutrition. I wanted to share my interpretation of food, not through binary categorizations but by presenting recipes that connect science, emotion and balance. I created the website to acknowledge the power behind food and to hopefully advocate for a balanced and mindful relationship with food through my own culinary experiences. My goal is for young people like me to see food not as something to control or not control at all, but as something to understand.

This is why Kitchen & Nutrition emphasizes discovering the values in foods through science. Instead of rules or guilt, we focus on how individual ingredients nourish our bodies and minds, celebrating the dishes we hold dear while making adjustments that allow you to reach your goals. The website fosters a mindset: A healthier relationship with eating is one that values balance and how you feel.

Images: Ethan Hu

Why does my kid always forget their lunchbox? (Or PE kit. Or homework. Or … everything.)

Spoiler: It’s not laziness. It’s executive function.

You hand your child their bag, remind them twice, and even walk them to the door. Five minutes later, the lunchbox is still sitting on the counter next to a half-eaten piece of toast. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Parents tell me this story every week. It’s one of the most frustrating parts of parenting a child with ADHD and one of the easiest to misunderstand.

We tend to think, “They just don’t care.” But most kids do care. Their brains are simply wired differently for remembering, organizing and following through.

The Real Culprit: Executive Function Gaps

ADHD isn’t about trying harder. It’s about how the brain manages information, time and actions.

The same brain systems that control focus and motivation also handle planning, organization and remembering multi-step routines – like getting out the door with shoes, water bottle and homework. Research from the Child Mind Institute and Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child shows that executive function skills such as working memory, organization, and task initiation develop more slowly in ADHD brains. Children with ADHD can lag 1-3 years behind their peers in these areas.

So when your child forgets their PE kit, they aren’t ignoring you. Their brain simply drops information somewhere between “I hear you say it” and “I do it.”

This isn’t disobedience. It’s a developmental gap and, like all gaps, it can be bridged.

Three ADHD-Friendly Scaffolds That Actually Work

Here are simple, science-backed tools to reduce stress and build your child’s memory and independence.

1. Make the Invisible Visible
   

Verbal reminders vanish fast. Visual cues stick. Try a small checklist by the door with pictures or words: lunch, water bottle, homework and shoes. Let your child tick them off themselves, as this creates ownership and frees you from the reminder loop.

Why it works: Visual prompts engage the part of the brain that stores spatial and visual memory, which is often a strength in ADHD learners.

2. Connect Before You Cue
   

Before giving an instruction, connect first. Get eye contact. Touch their shoulder. Use their name. Smile. ADHD brains filter out background noise, including your voice, when they’re hyperfocused elsewhere.

A quick connection moment helps your words land where they can be remembered.

Why it works: You’re activating emotional regulation before executive control, which is a key step in how the ADHD brain prioritizes attention.

3. Build Predictable Anchors
   

Routine strengthens memory. Pair everyday actions with specific triggers:

“When socks go on → shoes go on.”
“When the light goes off → grab your bag.”

These anchors reduce cognitive load. You’re helping their brain automate daily tasks, one small routine at a time.

Why it works: Predictability lowers anxiety and creates consistency without relying on willpower, something ADHD brains struggle to maintain.The Reframe That Changes Everything

Forgetfulness isn’t a moral failure. It’s a skill gap. When you switch from “Why can’t you remember?” to “What might help you remember?” you move from frustration to teaching.

Involving your child, young or older, in problem-solving builds their confidence and insight into their own brain.
Each small success strengthens the neural pathways for independence. You’re not just helping them today. You’re building the mental architecture that their adult self will rely on.

Why It Matters

Children with ADHD hear 20,000 corrections or criticisms by the time they turn 18. They’re told to “focus,” “try harder,” and “stop being careless.” Over time, that shapes their self-worth. Many teens internalize those messages as “I’m not capable.”  When adults replace criticism with curiosity, “What support does this brain need right now?” we build resilience, not shame. Because shame doesn’t fade with age. It lingers, often showing up later as avoidance, anxiety and burnout in adulthood.

The Takeaway 

Next time the lunchbox sits on the counter, pause. That moment isn’t defiance. It’s the gap before a skill develops. With small, consistent scaffolds, your child can build systems that make life smoother.

Parenting ADHD kids isn’t chaos. It’s brain science you haven’t been taught yet.

Images: Freepik