Would you take your child to China?

A recent fashion of some wealthy American families is to take their children to China to learn Mandarin. Curious to see the lengths some parents will go to for their offspring. American interest in Chinese language and culture has increased rapidly during the past years. There is an increase in Chinese language in schools and universities, after school classes, tutoring, hiring Mandarin speaking nannies, even enrolling their children in schools with partial Chinese immersion classes. Some parents seem to be doing all they can to encourage their children to learn Mandarin.



Watch this "Moving to China to Learn Mandarin"

In some ways it reminds me of Sushi on a Stick that I read for two years. An Australian family lived and worked for two years in Japan. The objectives were not exclusively for the children to learn Japanese. It seems that the parent’s had wanderlust (an affliction I suffer from too). I really enjoyed reading this adventure.
So Americans pack up and take their families to China. I would be interested to read or know of their experiences. I did find one example And Then We Slipped Away Into the Night… ends a family’s two months stay in Beijing. And Then We Found An Apartment is the beginning of the saga if you want to read more. A move like this has to be carefully planned it could all end in disappointment.

A close reading of the WSJ and BI article reveals that the American families heading to China are professional career people. These parents are very committed to letting their children become Mandarin speakers. Selling their house and taking a year off work. I wonder if Australian parents would do the same for their children.



To Improve Kids' Chinese, Parents Head to Asia

American Families Are Now Packing Up And Moving To China So Their Kids Can Learn To Speak Mandarin