Several schools for pre-school children in the southern province of Guangdong have launched a program for their pupils so they will be able to prepare themselves to a life with a new brother or sister.
According to China Daily, in anticipation of the effects of the repeal of the one-child policy last 2015, the kindergarten schools are conditioning the children of the possibility that they will soon have a new member in the family.
Since the policy is now to raise the child limit to two per family, Zhang Shaozhen, principal of Tiyu Donglu Kindergarten in Guangzhou's Tianhe district, led in conducting a survey of parents to know whether they are thinking of having a second child. Thirty percent have said that they would while 50 percent said they are hesitant. Less than 10 people gave an categorical "no."
"Through these activities, parents can learn what their kids think about having a sibling, and kids can improve their patience and awareness of sharing in a kind of rehearsal," Zhang said of the training.
"Kindergartens need to adjust our teaching to the new second-child era," Zhang added.
Tiyu Donglu Kindergarten is one of two other kindergarten schools in the district organizing "second-child training sessions" with their pupils. It is expected that more of them will pop up in the coming months or years as birth rate will most likely rise.
Second children have not been a problem in China since the late 1970s when the one-child policy was first implemented.
