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Parenting: newborns to toddlers

Parenting: newborns to toddlers
The early years are vital for your children's development. During this time they learn to walk, talk, feed themselves and interact with others. We share parents' stories and tips on what to do, where to go, what to expect and how to give your offspring the best start in life.
A trend in China, referred to as “hardship camps,” sees children engaged in strenuous tasks such as chopping wood and feeding pigs, often resulting in tears. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote
Trending in China

Chinese parents pay for ‘hardship camps’ to teach children family appreciation

Camp organisers assert that their primary aim is to instil an appreciation for the challenges associated with labour and earning money.

Trending in China

‘Kids’ nemesis’: Chinese vlogger uses ‘recycling’ approach to tackle bad habits

Good Schools Guide

Hong Kong’s baby bonus fails to boost births – what would work?

Wellness

Sunburn in children can cause skin cancer later in life. How to protect them

A dermatologist and a cancer research expert outline the skin damage childhood sunburn can cause later in life, and advise on sun safety.

Children should wear sunscreen with a high SPF and UVA protection, and should reapply regularly, according to a dermatologist and a cancer research expert, who explain why sunburn is so dangerous for children and how to protect them. Photo: Shutterstock
Trending in China

Ferrari owner sues ‘unapologetic’ China parents after kids scratch supercar

As a dad, driver wants to be lenient, but insincere attitude and paltry compensation offer by children’s guardians brought on legal action.

videocam
Trending in China

Chinese boy’s US$30,000 phone fire sparks shocking dad lesson

Story quickly gained traction on mainland social media, drawing over 50 million views on related discussions.

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Fame and celebrity

Who is England defender John Stones’ wife, Olivia Naylor?

The pair met in 2019, wed in Ibiza in 2025, and have 3 kids in their blended family – Naylor also owns a children’s clothing brand called Moosh.

England footballer John Stones and his wife Olivia Naylor in May. Photo: @oliviajstones/Instagram
Luxury travel

VI-Pooch? How luxury hotels are stepping up dog-friendly offerings

Bringing pets on holiday has become a non-negotiable for many – here’s how the trend has inspired hotels to get creative with paw-friendly policies.

Trending in China

Chinese infant sent to ICU for toxicity after being fed vegetable juice formula

3-month-old baby boy turns purple after being fed wrongly prepared drink by misguided parents who thought it would be more nutritious.

Trending in China

China boy wants to raise silkworms to create silk quilt; parents buy 10,000 seeds

Family eventually hatches 12,000 larvae and youngster feeds them every day; mother says caring for living things beats any toy.

A boy in China wants to raise silkworms to create a silk quilt, prompting his parents to buy 12,000 seeds on the internet. Photo: Baidu
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

How can Hong Kong help mothers of infants reverse falling breastfeeding rate?

Doctors and advocates say city needs to address sparse facilities, misinformation, and lack of statutory and employer support.

Illustration: Henry Wong
Good Schools Guide

Hong Kong parents and schools are rethinking sharing kids’ photos online

‘Sharenting’ can expose children to privacy breaches and identity theft, but schools still use students’ photos as marketing – where is the balance?

Parenting: teens

10 Japanese parenting tips to raise well-behaved, mindful and creative children

US-based author Lisa Katayama, who grew up in Tokyo, chose the Japanese way of parenting to bring up her kids. She shares 10 simple principles.

Wellness

Why are we still judging how mothers feed their babies?

Between Hewitt’s essay on choosing formula and Willis breastfeeding her toddler, the ‘breast is best’ conversation remains loaded with judgment.

Pete Davidson’s girlfriend Elsie Hewitt, who gave birth in December, wrote candidly about choosing formula over breastfeeding in an essay for Elle. Photo: @elsie/Instagram
Wellness

‘Hero of his own life’: how this Hongkonger beat high cholesterol in 12 months

Shashank Gangil had high cholesterol, signs of fatty liver and plantar fasciitis. Here’s how he got in top shape before his twins were born.

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Compose photo of Shashank Gangli for the story WW NEW DAD WEIGHT LOSS. Photo: handout
Wellness

She was a 102kg diabetic with a ‘death wish’. After losing 40kg, she’s thriving

Keya Wingfield comfort-ate to morbid obesity after her baby son died. An epiphany led to her losing 40kg and reversing type 2 diabetes.

Trending in China

Chinese mum leaves son, 6, in hotel for more than 2 weeks; staff act as carers

Abandoned youngster tells returning mother that he is ‘a little man who can take care of himself’; cleaner who cared for him is left in tears.

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Trending in China

China boy sues dad for using his US$11,500 red packet cash to pay remarriage costs

Court orders money-grabbing divorcee who took accumulated New Year gift money held in son’s bank account to pay back full amount.

A divorced Chinese father who took more than US$11,000 of his 10-year-old son’s Chinese New Year “red packet” money to cover his remarriage ceremony has been ordered by a court to return the full amount after the boy filed a lawsuit. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Sohu
Wellness

Parents of Hong Kong’s ‘Girl Behind the Face’ finally share their story

Mui Thomas’s story of living with a rare skin disease has moved many. Now, her adoptive parents share why they ignored advice to ‘walk away’.

Trending in China

‘Reversed parenting’: China couples copy kids, throw tantrums to promote equal talk

Millennial parents turn to role reversal and facing the consequences methods to instil sense of self-responsibility in their children.

Trending in China

‘My doll is like my child’: China Gen Z’s craze for cotton kids sparks debate

So-called doll mummies create mainland market worth US$1.4 billion; say toy companions of ‘emotional support’; even ‘smell’ like their owners.

China’s Generation Z are embracing the notion of “becoming mothers without pain” by nurturing stuffed toys as if they are real babies. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin
Viral stories

Japan couple spark child neglect concerns for letting son, 12, babysit 5 siblings

Young boy who cooks for, cleans, bathes, his younger brothers and sisters contacts TV station seeking relief from his responsibilities.

A Japanese couple with six children, the youngest less than one year old, rely on their 12-year-old son to babysit, raising concerns about child neglect. Photo: SCMP composite/YouTube
Trending in China

China couple abandon their young children at hotel after dispute, spark heated debate

Police forced to take youngsters into their care after mother and father fail to answer phone calls; anger online as parents get off with warning.

South Korea

Rich South Korean mums face ‘worst nightmare’ over European baby food recall

Parents fret over ‘Gangnam formula’, a brand associated with wealthy families, after French firm Danone recalled it over toxin fears.

Trending in China

China baby hospitalised with 600 needle marks after mum stabs him for misbehaviour

Poorly educated woman with emotional problems tries to apply ‘folk remedy’, punctures son’s skin causing bleeding with rusty shard left in body.

A baby boy in China was rushed to hospital covered in needle marks after being brutally punished by his mother, who stabbed him repeatedly for misbehaving. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin
Trending in China

China mum shares kid’s recovery from underdeveloped hip joint, gets online support

Young child’s struggle to walk after malformed joint diagnosis is charted on social media by her mother; video clips get more than a million likes.

A mother has documented her toddler daughter’s rehabilitation from a hip joint condition, gaining online support. Photo: Douyin
Trending in China

Tourist couple leave babies with China guard; locals play with twins, change nappies

Pakistani couple head off to explore mountain park alone, return a while later with ice creams; cute baby coughs up milk over feeding passer-by.

Wellness

Love your baby bump? How to get a bespoke pregnancy sculpture in Hong Kong

Samantha Waterhouse was not able to capture her own unique curves during pregnancy, so now she helps other mothers-to-be preserve theirs.

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