Beijing’s recent red alerts and ensuing school closures may have been designed, in part, to keep children safe at home and away from heavy smog. But many parents say more drastic measures are needed to truly protect students from pollution on a day to day basis.Xudong "Clive" Zhang, whose daughter is enrolled in a public kindergarten in Beijing’s Haidian district, tells beijingkids: "I think schools should have at least one air purifier for each class. The kids need some protection."

However, such standards have yet to be met in the Chinese public school system. A recent CCTV report detailed the frustration of a group of Shanghai parents whose proposal to have air purifiers installed in every classroom was denied by the authorities because of “potential safety risks.” A Global Times editorial, meanwhile, decried the bureaucracy that has stalled such anti-pollution efforts, while a China Daily editorial insisted that the authorities should "heed parents’ call to better protect students from smog."

Many of those parents are not content to wait for the authorities to take action. Xiaoli Tang, whose daughter attends third grade at a public school in Haidian, says she and a few fellow parents banded together to purchase two air purifiers for their children’s classroom. But they could only do so if all student’s parents signed a consent form, and even after the device was installed the issue was still not entirely resolved."One purifier had some problems, so we had to return it. Maybe next semester we will buy another one, because one is not enough to protect them," she says. Worse still: the needed maintenance of those devices fell on already overworked teachers. Xiaoli explains: "One purifier stopped working, and it gave the head teachers many troubles because they had to clean it and call the service phone number to fix it."

That is unacceptable for Xiaoli, who says: "I think all these things should be done by the government, not the children or parents."And yet, both Zhang and Xiaoli say they are happy to contribute to an air purifier fund in order to protect their children. But an equally contentious issue lies in the instalation such devices. The aforementioned parent group in Shanghai not only insisted that air purifiers were a necessity at their children’s school, but also volunteered to pay for the machines. However, the authorities even refuted that offer, writing in a reply: “Purifiers tend to be too large in size to be positioned in a crammed classroom without endangering children’s safety. In addition [it would]put strain on the school’s old electricity network, posing an extra threat."

Sometimes the opposition lies not with the authorities, but with fellow parents. Jerry Chan, one of my colleagues at The Beijinger, took to our blog’s comment section to write about such a standoff at his daughter’s local public primary school in Chaoyang. His post outlined how he and some fellow parents offered to buy an air purifier for the classroom, only to have their proposal blocked by another parental group who "decided they didn’t want to pay, so they ran to the Ministry of Education and complained that the school was ‘charging extra fees.’" He added that those gripes prompted the school’s administration to ban air purifiers from all classrooms, "because they are afraid of getting in trouble with the Ministry of Education," compelling Chan and his wife to get "our daughter out of this school as soon as possible, but words cannot describe the ignorance and cowardice at play here…"

In a subsequent interview, Chan went on to describe his frustration about "how general ignorance could cause people to consider their pocketbooks over the health of their children – particularly since we hadn’t even asked them to pay. They just assumed this was to be the case." Troubling as that outcome was, it also spoke to an even deeper problem. He explains: "Aside from not wanting to pay, I think they are generally uninformed about the dangers of air pollution on their childrens’ health."

Hu Tao recently dealt with a similar spat at his at his daughter’s primary school in Haidian. He recalls meeting with fellow parents who hoped to purchase a pricey purifier, only to have others complain about the cost."They wanted to buy a cheaper one, which we finally ended up doing," he says, adding that thrifty resolution left him with little consolation. "The teachers told us that they turned it on when there was smog, but I’m not sure how effective this cheaper purifier is."

Xiaoli is optimistic that such frugal attitudes will eventually change. She’s also pragmatic enough to know that she and likeminded parents need to push for such breakthroughs now. As public pressure mounts for authorities to install purifiers at schools, and studies by publications like Environmental Health Perspectives reveal the harm that pollution inflicts on not only the lungs, but also the mind (the study said: "On average, cognitive scores were 61 percent higher" on days with better air quality), she believes the government will have massive incentive to act.

In the meantime, she is more than content to do her part to ensure her daughter’s safety, explaining: "The government should do this, but the bureaucracy is so big, and developing countries like ours have so many issues, so they need time. So it can’t be the government’s fault entirely if the people do not try to do something. Everyone needs to try and work together to give our kids the proper care."

Photo: The Guardian

Thankfully it’s clean, clear, and snowy white out there today. However while we Beijinger’s often gripe about dismal air quality levels and unsettling recent red alert pollution restrictions, many residents of New Delhi look on with envy. 

That may come as a surprise to those of us living in the Chinese capital, whose smog has become infamous in the international media, especially as of late. But for Anu Anand Hall, an American of Indian descent who works in New Delhi for the BBC world service and a young mother of two, the conditions in Beijing are comparatively quite desirable. That’s because the level of deadly PM2.5 particles is not only higher in New Delhi, according to the WHO but also because the use of air purifiers and masks is far more prevalent in Beijing.

“Masks and purifiers are extremely uncommon still,” Hall tells beijingkids in a Facebook message on Dec. 24, shortly after New Delhi recorded its most polluted day of the year. She adds: “There is growing awareness among the upper classes. Many are buying filters & masks. Some have already moved their families out of Delhi, but the vast majority of people are aware but either resigned or indifferent.”

Meanwhile, the famous anti-pollution domes erected at many schools seem futuristic and highly desirable to Delhi based parents like Hall. She says: “My son goes to the British School here. I’ve read in Beijing they have or plan to cover the playing fields with a hi-tech bubble. Here they’ve just installed a purifying system… Apart from three or four international schools who have taken imperfect measures to protect kids, other private schools are just waking up to it. And still others are in complete denial… (And) they only stop kids from playing outside when the AQI hits 250!”

She adds that the indigenous population not only lacks access and information about air purification and pollution protection; many of those locals are unfortunately all the more deprived of information: “Expats definitely use purifiers and masks more. A guy who sells purifiers here says many of his Indian customers insist purifiers will weaken the immune systems of their children.”

New Delhi’s Bubu Shinki, a New Delhi resident who frequently posts on Facebook forums about his city’s smog, says many locals are as surprised as Beijingers that the Chinese capital’s AQI gets more media attention, considering its better air quality than that of its Indian counterpart. But he says: “I realize that because of a lack of pressure from abroad, Delhi doesn’t feel the urgency to take care of it’s reputation. There is no sense of responsibility whatsoever. And maybe China wants to show the world (after Paris climate conference), that they are willing to change. As opposed to India, which is preoccupied with local nonsense.”

That lack of action frustrates parents like Hall, whose children appear to be resigned to spending their recesses indoors with no better prospects in sight. She says: “They’re essentially caged. You just can’t be outside in winter. It’s certainly making parents crazy.”

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia commons, pixabay.com

Ho-ho-no… Beijing has issued a second red-alert bad air warning, this time lasting for four days, taking effect from tomorrow Saturday December 19 at 7am through until midnight on Tuesday December 22.

School Closures
Expat children attending international schools may have already begun their winter holidays, but those attending local schools will be unexpectedly home with their parents early next week. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Education has called for all schools to close on Monday and Tuesday. Just like last time, they’ve instructed teachers to issue homework so that at-home learning can continue on those days. Schools must also provide in-school supervision for children who are unable to remain at home due to parental work commitments.

Entertaining the Troops
Whether or which your kids are on holidays, or home-schooling next week, there’s an entire four-day period to get through with them cooped up indoors. Here’s our pick of indoor events and activities, Dec 19-22.

Farm to Neighbors’ Christmas Market
When: Dec 19-20, 12-6pm
Where: Fat Dragon Cafeteria on the B1 floor of The Grand Summit in Liangmaqiao
All ages. A two-day Christmas Market in Liangmaqiao. Alongside more than 50 vendors selling food, drink, and handmade gifts, there’ll also be workshops where you can make a unique gift. There’s even an onsite gift wrapping service for purchases made at the market.

Gingerbread House How-To with Chef Grace
When: Dec 19-29, 4pm
Where: Domain @ EAST Beijing
All ages. Join this weekly class and build a gingerbread house with a pre-prepared kit including walls, roof pieces, frosting, handmade sugar candy Santa, Christmas trees, snowmen decorations, and an assortment of candy. Take home kit RMB 160. Workshop (including kit) RMB 220.

Children’s Theater with A Short Long
When: Dec 19, 10am and 3pm; Dec 20, 10am
Where: Drum Tower West Theater
Ages 18-months to 7. Specifically created for children, and taking the artwork of Russian Abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky as it’s inspiration, this dance performance and workshop invites the audience to create stories and forms from abstract elements such as geometric shapes and lines in play with their own bodies. RMB 150.

Cookie Decorating at Capital M
When: Dec 19-20, 11:30am to 12:30pm
Where: Capital M
All ages. Decorate delicious gingerbread cookies during brunch service. Open to all children who are having brunch with their family at the restaurant.

English Language Phantom of the Opera
When: Dec 18-Jan 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Where: Tianqiao Theater
All ages. Although it’s a pricy option, there are still tickets available for matinee shows this weekend, and evening shows next week. RMB 790-1,330.

Star Trek: The Exhibition
When: Dec 12-Feb 22, 10am-10pm
Where: The Place
All ages. It may not be the sci-fi franchise everyone is talking about right now, but The Place is exhibiting the largest collection of authentic Star Trek artifacts ever put on public display, featuring sets, costumes, priceless museum pieces and props from all five Star Trek television series and 11 Star Trek feature films, including the 2009 blockbuster film directed by J.J. Abrams. Not sure how filtered the air will be! RMB 100 per person; RMB 220 for groups of three.

Photos: Courtesy of Wikimedia commons, pixabay.com, Farm to Neighbors, Domain @ EAST Hotel Beijing, Feitong Yiban Theater Company.