The age old Chinese postnatal confinement tradition (坐月子) dates back to more than 2000 years ago, but this is still widely practised today across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and other cities with a sizeable Chinese population. Nowadays, this tradition is considered as a luxury lifestyle choice for many modern mums. Traditionally, the Chinese […]
By London based photographer Marta Stoyanova Having a newborn baby is an exciting time for families everywhere. It is however also challenging and testing at the best of times and sleep deprivation leaves new parents in a state of blur. Hours turn into days, days into weeks and it all feels like a long stretch […]
10 years ago hundreds of children lived huddled away in an orphanage in China. As many as 85% of them would die infants, abandoned by their parents out of desperation. This was Hengyang orphanage a decade ago. Understaffed, under resourced, and unknown to most the centre was a place of desperation; babies’ cries would become […]
Zuo Yuezi (「坐月子」), which literally means ‘sitting the month’, is a traditional Chinese practice of confinement for one month following childbirth. During this time, there are customs by which Chinese mothers may choose to follow which affect their dietary choices and how they feed their baby. There is a lack of culturally specific information and […]
By Dr Alex Tan I met Dr Lie during my work at Newcastle University. Her paper on the parenting of Chinese and Bangladeshi households was of particular interest as it is a rare example of academic work with Chinese families in the North East. Recently Dr Lie kindly discussed her book, which expands on the […]
Framed hand and foot cast with Chinese inscription. Baby rituals in Chinese culture are just as important to many parents as any other traditions. Unlike in western culture, baby showers take place after the birth of the baby and there is a big celebration when the baby reaches 100 days old. Sometimes the revealing of […]
The modernisation of postnatal ‘confinement’ in China: to ensure one of the country’s most ancient traditions is upheld, luxury ‘post natal care’ hotels are being built to ease the waiting list on China’s professional supermums, or “confinement ladies”. Watch the episode here at the bottom of this article. ————————-Advert————————- Click image to go to Memory Makers’ […]
Being bilingual has many advantages in life and it’s great when children of non-English speaking ethnicities in the UK can speak their mother tongue as well as English. But just how do some parents go about teaching their children Chinese and English? Nee Hao asked a few mums, both British Chinese and those from the […]
Nee Hao spoke to a few mothers who enjoy splashing their cash to buy their children expensive clothes, which far exceed the amount they spend on toys as well as clothes and other things for themselves. But why spend so much on clothes that within a few years or even a few months they will […]
Zhang Junhao from Shandong province, wows the judges on Amazing Chinese (CCTV China), a show similar to Britain’s Got Talent. The cute 3-year-old boy performs a series of dance routines choreographed to the songs being played on his mobile speaker which he brought on stage with him. Superstar actor Jet Li who was one of the […]