Multilingual Parenting & Education
Reflections on raising a child with Chinese, English, and German, as well as school, language learning, childhood, and family education across cultures.
-
When AI Removes a Rung from the Ladder, I Suddenly Understand My Daughter’s Hand-Painted Shoes
An old pair of shoes became something different when Alicia threaded the laces back in and covered them with colors of her own. On the same day, a conversation about AI and disappearing career ladders made me wonder whether the… Continue reading
-
A Child Watching Short Videos Isn’t the Scariest Part—What’s Scary Is When No One Helps Her Make Sense of the World
One day, Alicia told me about a short video and suddenly said, “Sometimes the evil in human nature is really hard to imagine.” What stayed with me was not simply that a nine-year-old had seen something disturbing, but the fact… Continue reading
-
When Children Reach for Their Phones Whenever They Have Free Time, Should We Also Ask: Do They Still Have a Chance to Learn How to Play?
A group of children can sit together, each staring at a screen, and it is easy to conclude that children today simply do not know how to play anymore. But before blaming the phone—or the children—it may be worth asking… Continue reading
-
We Think We Know Our Children, but Often We’ve Simply Grown Used to Our Own Judgments
I had spent years thinking Alicia simply wasn’t good at organizing—until one tired evening I handed her the fridge and discovered that the ability had been there all along. Sometimes what looks like a child’s fixed weakness may tell us… Continue reading
-
Growing Up Multilingual Isn’t as Effortless as It Looks
A child may switch easily between three languages and still begin losing points over articles, word endings or written accuracy once school becomes more demanding. The polished multilingual moments we see online rarely show the quieter reality behind them: each… Continue reading
-
My Daughter Is Like a Little Heroine, but I Need to Teach Her When to Sheathe Her Sword
Alicia saw her friend crying and did what came naturally to her: she comforted her, protected her from embarrassment—and then went to confront the boy who had upset her. I was proud of the instinct behind it, but it also… Continue reading
-
Scolding a Child Ten Times for Being “Careless” Is Less Useful Than Teaching Them What Being Careful Actually Looks Like
Alicia kept making mistakes in math problems she actually knew how to solve—misreading signs, skipping steps, and failing to catch errors even when she checked her work. It made me wonder whether telling a child to “be more careful” means… Continue reading
-
For Ordinary Parents, Real Foresight Means Seeing Early What Suits Their Child
Real parental foresight is not only about money, education, or access to resources. Sometimes it means seeing a child clearly enough to recognize both her limitations and her possibilities, and helping her find a path that suits her before she… Continue reading
-
On the Day of the Gaokao, I Suddenly Understood: A Parent’s Perspective Becomes the Road Beneath a Child’s Feet
Starting from the first day of the Gaokao, this essay reflects on how a parent’s perspective, judgment, and emotional support can quietly shape the roads a child is able to see. Parents cannot decide a child’s fate, but the worlds… Continue reading
-
Good Luck Isn’t in the Coin, but in the Mindset
Alicia spends two Lunar New Years hoping to find a lucky coin hidden inside a dumpling, but this year she slowly realizes that luck may mean something very different. Through a small family tradition and an unexpected change in her… Continue reading
