Here at beijingkids, we are especially proud of this issue, Spilling Secrets, which takes an in-depth look at sex education and all of the many issues that surround this in China, from consent to periods to harassment.
We tackled these topics from the main perspective of wanting to help parents wade through how to protect children from sexual abuse and how to educate at a young age without stirring up too much interest, and this is why we chose “Protect Us, Teach Us” for our feature. Of course we couldn’t avoid topics that affect older kids and teens, like psychologically safe sex and cyberbullying; read our shocking interview with a student at a Beijing international school, describing his experience of being bullied online.
Living
Our jaws dropped when we saw Amber Meyer’s transformation at Catherine de France. We can’t wait to get our hands on chocolate by Deershop since it’s socially conscious and high quality cocoa. Since we were already thinking about sex and love, we couldn’t ignore that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. We rounded up some luxury gifts, from cool shaving kits to oils, for spoiling your significant other.
Dining
Din Tai Fung gets a great review by the Kurbonov brothers who love superheroes as much as they love crabs. Professional chef Jonathan Howes brought his family into their swanky home at New World Beijing Hotel to show us how to prepare a meal that will make your partner swoon.
Health
We take a look at whether period talk is really taboo, and get a bit of information about balancing this cycle from Traditional Chinese Medicine’s point of view thanks to Dr. Melissa Rodriguez. In Mind Over Matter, Dr. Marc Murphy wrote a fabulous explanation of how to know when sex is probably mentally safe for everyone involved.
Learning
In Schooled, we asked Western Academy of Beijing and Fangcaodi International School to explain their approaches to sex education. We provide apps in Tech Corner that keep passwords safe to further protect against identity theft, and rounded up books to help with “the Talk” in Off the Shelf. CISB’s Adrian Elmo explains what would happen if a student wanted to visit a counselor to talk about sexual harassment. ISB students share with us their inspirations for their design projects, and students connected to Beijing’s LBGT center debate about whether gender is assigned or not.
Parenting
We’ve expanded our parenting section once again to include a new column called Marvelous Mom, which will alternate with Dynamic Dad. Jen Pohland is this month’s Marvelous Mom, as she explains the evolution in her own parenting and how the SLab helped her change her relationship with her daughter. Ember Swift shares the story she used to teach her children about special parts, and why and how to respect those parts. Jennifer Ambrose ponders the limits of sharenting as a child becomes a teen, and West Meets East shares perspectives on parent led sex education.
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Download the digital version here.
