It’s virtually impossible for parents to fully know whether the educational choices they are making for their children are the right ones in the long run. Many parents start teaching their kids as early as possible, some immediately after birth, while others even employ various forms of inter-uterine exposure to various stimuli aimed at giving the unborn child a massive headstart on learning. Still more choose not to do anything until the child is of kindergarten age, and only then do these parents actively intervene in their children’s knowledge acquisition processes.
But if you are a parent terrified about making the wrong decision regarding your child’s early childhood education, what do you do, short of binge-reading every early childhood theory book out there? A key resource for new parents these days is listening to podcasts, where personal parenting experiences become a collective learning experience. While listening to podcasts, parents can feel less alone, can identify with the struggles of those who have done it before them, and learn how to best make decisions suitable for their kids. Amazing Parents 了不起的爸妈 is one such podcast, giving Beijing-based parents a chance to not only share with each other but also to learn from each other. We spoke to founder Nina Xu (whose name you may recognize as the founder of early-childhood center Little Park) about what motivated her to start this podcast and how she wishes to continue helping Bejing’s moms and dads.
Xu, with her amazing little students
The reason I was inspired to start a podcast is simple and it comes down to one simple word; ‘amazing’ is the word I repeated often every time that I had a coffee or tea time with parents whose children are at Little Park. Their authentic accounts about parenting experiences, insights into education, and desires to impact the community are the catalysts for starting podcast Amazing Parents 了不起的爸妈 (liǎobùqǐ de bà mā).
I believe parents’ voices could encourage and support more parents who home with their children during this pandemic.
Parents’ authentic accounts about parenting experiences, insights into education, and desires to impact the community are the catalysts for starting podcast Amazing Parents 了不起的爸妈 (Liǎobùqǐ de bà mā).
The podcast is about focusing on education at home. Parents share stories and reflections on their parenting styles. Each episode has its feature based on what parents advocate for. For instance, a musician might share how she managed to bond with her son through music, while another mom might make observations about how children learn through play. We update new episodes weekly. You can subscribe on Apple podcast and the Chinese podcast app Ximalaya 喜马拉雅.
There are various challenges parents face when trying to raise their kids. I think the biggest challenge is how adults see children. Do you see them as an independent human being or belonging to parent?
I have become increasingly confident and qualified in encouraging parents to see the care of their children as not just caring for ‘a baby’, but rather for an individual who will be consequential in the future.
“These stories travel further afield to connect people, and connecting parents with similar parenting philosophies is one of my passions.”
Starting this podcast has had a major impact on families around me. More parents were even more open to sharing their stories in subsequent episodes after the first episode was released. These stories travel further afield to connect people, and connecting parents with similar parenting philosophies is one of my passions. It has now become a much bigger community well beyond Little Park.
The feedback I receive from parents or educators keeps me inspiring me to think about what else Little Park could do to contribute to Beijing’s families’ future. Our long term goal is for Little Park to be a resourceful community where both children and parents will love to stay, learn, play, and interact.
To find out more about Little Park, please visit their official website on www.littleparkchildren.com or scan the QR code to follow their official WeChat page.
Scan QR code for official Little Park WeChat Page.
Photos: Nina Xu
