Happy New Year! It’s that time again when we either put our resolutions into action or procrastinate on them for at least another day until the hangover wears off…

We asked our readers what their resolutions for 2024 are and here’s how Beijing voted.

Looks like the beginning of the year has got us thinking about our fitness again. To get started on the right track, be sure to check out our recommendations for fitness deals to jump-start your fitness goals.

Images: Pinterest

Saying that this is a strange time for everyone is an understatement by now. In the education industry, schools, students, parents, and after school programs are scrambling to plan ahead, new COVID-19 cases are discovered and tentative re-opening dates once again postponed. So during this time of uncertainty, what’s the plan for your child’s academic future?

We took an informal poll in expat groups of parents with school-aged children to get a feel of how parents are reacting to the situation. The poll was conducted on WeChat via a personal account and distributed among a range of parenting and education groups. It had a total of 240 respondents (but if you missed out this time, don’t worry as we are conducting a second, even more thorough follow-up poll that you can take part in.)

The biggest take-away? Of those who participated 66% said that they intend to re-enroll their children in their current school despite COVID-19 uncertainties and concerns of whether their school may be able to return to normal next semester.

More than one in ten – 11% to be exact – are undecided as to re-enrollment. Some parents – 8% of respondents – are unhappy about how their school has handled the coronavirus crisis and are looking to switch schools. Another 8% have decided to homeschool their children for the next semester. The final 7% replied with ‘Other’ which could indicate they are considering leaving China entirely.

The next couple of months will be a critical time for schools to consolidate their existing enrollments, and potentially woo other families who are actively seeking to change schools, with the start of the fall semester traditionally beginning around mid to late-August. 

What are your thoughts on how your child’s school has coped with COVID-19 restrictions? Share your thoughts by scanning the QR code in WeChat below to take the poll.

KEEP READING:  “It Gave Me a Lot of Freedom”, On The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling

Photos: beijingkids, Unsplash

You can either say that I’m a slow learner or that I’m hopelessly naive. I believed in Santa until I was 9 years old. Even then I still held out a slight glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe, Santa could still be real.

When I was young my parents would somehow manage to decorate the whole living room in one night without ever waking me and tell me that Santa did it during the night. I’m not too proud of this, but Christmas morning when I was 8 years old and still obliviously wide-eyed, I took a tape measure out and measured the footprints on the carpet in our living room and compared them to my parent’s shoes before even glancing at the presents. What can I say? I read a lot of Nancy Drew back then and I was determined to catch jolly old Saint Nick.

When I was 9 years old my mom finally came clean about the decorations after I accused Santa of ripping off my dad’s design styles.

Nowadays I’ve met 4-year-olds who’ve rolled their eyes at me when I asked them what they’re hoping Santa will bring them for Christmas. Hanging around parents who are still seriously stressed out about their kids finding out that Santa’s not real doesn’t really happen anymore, but it’s not hard to understand why some parents still want their kids to believe in Santa Claus and the magic of Christmas. In a practical sense, it’s great for teaching kids geography and cultural diversity – trying to track Santa’s journey across the globe in one night and stopping in every country.

Here’s the question of the season.
How old were you when you realized that Santa’s not real?
Scan the QR code to vote:

Most of us living in Beijing are in apartments and even those of us living in villas don’t always have chimneys.

’Tis the season to be jolly. ’Tis also the season for the serious debate of how, logistically speaking, one fat man can make his way around the world and sneak into homes, bypassing state-of-the-art alarm systems and hyperactive family pets.

Photos: unsplash, giphy