Two years ago I wrote in the September, 2010 issue of beijingkids about reducing your carbon footprint with an easy list of ‘to-do’s. I talked about simply eating less meat and suggested that your family go vegetarian once day a week. It takes 68 times more energy to produce beef than to produce an equivalent amount of potatoes, so eating [...]
The key is to be clear, consistent and natural. Moaning that you cannot have ice-cream because it might make you fatter sends the wrong message. Instead, choose a special day to have modest amount of it. Share it. Make it special rather than guilty. This makes it clear that a treat should serve a celebratory function rather than be an [...]
Sleep is one of the most misunderstood and confusing aspects of parenthood. Many people think that for the first few weeks, all babies will do is feed and sleep. While this is true for some lucky parents, there will always be the newborn or young baby who is simply more tense, fretful and alert than others. This was certainly true [...]
This month the children get a free pass. Instead, I’m on the parents, in particular the topic of weight gain over the holidays. Multiple holiday parties and brunches can easily add 5 pounds to an average sized man, as my husband found out during our own recent holidays. When January rolls around, new-year resolutions may help people shed some of [...]
I love bacteria and yeast…actually I need to rephrase. I respect them. I almost studied microbiology when I finished my ‘A’ levels in Singapore but decided to do business studies instead. Long story short, I have come back full circle to my original fascination with the little critters and what they do to our health and now I work with [...]
Moving to a new country is hard work for almost anyone, and downright stressful for many. We moved to China seven years ago from sunny Singapore, just about this time of year. I remember clearly the stress of getting rid of things we wouldn’t need, organizing movers, and sorting personal items amidst the goodbye wishes. What a lot of fuss [...]