https://www.scmp.com/rss/9372/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Two friends battled a three-metre python for half an hour to rescue an 18kg pet dog from its grip in the Hong Kong countryside area of Sai Kung last week. The Burmese python struck out at five-year-old Pippa along a country trail, seizing the cross-breed dog in its huge jaws and coiling around it quickly. Pippa’s owner Stacy Tucker, 49, and her pilot friend Colin Dyson, 52, joined hands to wrestle with the hungry predator. Tucker sat on top of the snake as they prised open its jaws and tried to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1857996/pet-owner-and-friend-fight-save-dog-jaws-python?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1857996/pet-owner-and-friend-fight-save-dog-jaws-python?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2015 07:15:45 +0000 Phoebe Hung Ching-laam has the kind of school life that reads like the plot of an Enid Blyton novel. For the past four years she has been a boarder at Sexey's School: a 124-year-old institution set in picturesque countryside close to a working watermill in Somerset, southwest England. The school boasts a mix of old and new buildings, sports facilities that include a cricket pavilion, modern information and communications technology suites and a drama studio, plus a purpose-built sixth form... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1802336/hongkongers-studying-free-britains-state-boarding-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1802336/hongkongers-studying-free-britains-state-boarding-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2015 22:15:00 +0000 Little Billy Taylor crawls along the floor and dips his hands into a pile of what looks like wood shavings. He plays around in them for a few minutes before moving his attention to classmate Jessica Boswell who is playing with a golf ball rolling around in a tray of green paint. With similar enthusiasm, the one-year-old dives into the paint with both hands, squelching it between his fingers and then rolling the golf ball over his face, smearing the paint in and around his mouth. It's a scene... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1785745/hong-kong-classes-teach-young-children-how-use-their-seven-senses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1785745/hong-kong-classes-teach-young-children-how-use-their-seven-senses?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2015 22:00:15 +0000 It is a map of misery and death – a grimly fascinating overview of Hong Kong that offers a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood breakdown of thousands of lives lost to suicide. Bright red patches mark the hotspots where suicide rates are the highest, while deep blue colours show the areas where rates are the lowest. Lighter shades of red and blue mark the areas that fall between the high and low rates. A team of academics and psychiatrists from Hong Kong and Taiwan spent two years studying 5,754... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1730882/hong-kongs-map-death-where-suicides-happen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1730882/hong-kongs-map-death-where-suicides-happen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 22:45:30 +0000 Three shopping malls in the city have come under fire from animal lovers after they used live goats as part of Lunar New Year promotional events. Thousands of complaints were posted online while the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) labelled the stunts as "inappropriate". Two goats were used in a ceremony at Times Square, Causeway Bay, on Monday morning, while the APM mall in Kowloon Bay is believed to have offered customers the chance to feed a goat in return for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1708294/you-must-be-kidding-hong-kong-shopping-mall-promotion-gets-animal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1708294/you-must-be-kidding-hong-kong-shopping-mall-promotion-gets-animal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2015 09:21:37 +0000 Local historians have launched a search for the family of a British sailor who fought to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese during the second world war, after his Royal Navy ID tag was found on a mountainside in Tai Tam. The ID tag, bearing the name "J Siddans" and his service number and religion, was uncovered by military-history enthusiast David Willott as he combed the area around Stanley Gap Road - a known battleground - with a metal detector last month. Local historians later identified its... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1706247/id-tag-found-tai-tam-sparks-search-family-wartime-british-sailor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1706247/id-tag-found-tai-tam-sparks-search-family-wartime-british-sailor?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2015 21:40:46 +0000 When Koko Mueller posted details of her Christmas traditions on the Facebook page of Hong Kong Moms, there was one comment she attracted that must have struck a chord with many of those reading. "Rather keen to have Xmas at Koko's house. Sounds so lovely," said one mum. The comment wasn't surprising considering Mueller's month-long spree of festive traditions and events would put even the most diehard Grinch or Scrooge in the Christmas spirit. For Mueller, Christmas begins with the annual... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1667721/expats-hong-kong-mark-christmas-old-and-new-ways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1667721/expats-hong-kong-mark-christmas-old-and-new-ways?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:01:09 +0000 A charismatic moon bear who became a symbol of the animal-welfare movement in Asia after being rescued by a Hong Kong-based charity from a bear-bile farm has died after beating overwhelming odds to live out his final years in freedom. Oliver the bear won a host of celebrity admirers, including Born Free star Virginia McKenna and Downton Abbey actress Lesley Nicol, after being rescued with a group of other bears from appallingly cramped cages in a bear farm in Shandong . He confounded... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1640972/oliver-rescued-bear-who-became-icon-campaign-against-bile-farming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1640972/oliver-rescued-bear-who-became-icon-campaign-against-bile-farming?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2014 22:45:00 +0000 Like any mother, Lily Lam King-pui is dreading the moment when young Bella leaves the nest. She knows there will be tears when she says goodbye to the youngster she has nurtured. But she takes comfort in the fact that her Bella will make a difference in the world. "I know she will be helping someone and I know whoever that is, they will love her and treat her well," Lam says. Bella is in fact, not a child, but a Labrador puppy, and a special one at that. Bred in the US, she is earmarked to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1636646/hong-kong-puppy-fostering-scheme-bolsters-return-seeing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1636646/hong-kong-puppy-fostering-scheme-bolsters-return-seeing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2014 02:15:00 +0000 It looks like the Eiffel Tower. Is it just a copy? I suppose it is. Building the tower, the 120th anniversary of which falls this year, was the idea of mayor John Bickerstaffe, who came back from the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, France, so impressed by the Eiffel Tower that he commissioned one like it for Blackpool. It cost £290,000 to build and featured five million bricks, 2,500 tonnes of iron and 93 tonnes of steel. It opened on May 14, 1894. At 158 metres, it is about half the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1633314/hot-spots-blackpool-tower-lancashire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1633314/hot-spots-blackpool-tower-lancashire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:10:25 +0000 The Hong Kong Jockey Club has promised to post signs on its betting-shop doors saying guide dogs are welcome after staff tried to stop a blind man with a guide dog from buying a lottery ticket. The club has also reminded all security staff of the policy to accept guide dogs and contacted a guide-dog charity to discuss using its official door signs and holding talks with staff. The move follows a South China Morning Post article last weekend and complaints to the Jockey Club after David Wong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1619593/jockey-club-ensure-guide-dogs-allowed-betting-shops-after-blind-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1619593/jockey-club-ensure-guide-dogs-allowed-betting-shops-after-blind-man?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:45:24 +0000 Hong Kong Jockey Club staff have come under fire for allegedly trying to stop a blind man and his guide dog entering one of their shops, telling him pets were not allowed on the premises. David Wong Man-chiu, 65, and his dog, Google, were apparently surrounded by three members of staff when he visited the North Point betting branch to buy a Mark Six lottery ticket on Friday. The staff - two security guards and a cleaner - blocked his path and demanded he leave, said Wong's daughter, Vicky Wong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1613964/jockey-club-staff-under-fire-trying-refuse-entry-blind-man-guide-dog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1613964/jockey-club-staff-under-fire-trying-refuse-entry-blind-man-guide-dog?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:02:43 +0000 A hunting party was called in to shoot and kill wild boar on the Kau Sai Chau public golf courses in Sai Kung after the animals breached electric fences and damaged 44,000 square metres of turf in the past two months. The population of boar, some of which are believed to swim out to the golfing island, which lies a 15-minute boat ride from Sai Kung, has grown steadily and is estimated to be 20. The Jockey Club, which runs the club on donated government land, said it had made several attempts to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1602819/anger-hunters-sent-cull-wild-boar-damaging-sai-kung-golf-courses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1602819/anger-hunters-sent-cull-wild-boar-damaging-sai-kung-golf-courses?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2014 21:15:45 +0000 A man being investigated over a Facebook post featuring photographs of a dog churning in a washing machine claims to have fled to the mainland. The man, who goes by the name of Jacky Lo, posted a status update yesterday in which he bragged that he was on his way out of Hong Kong as pressure mounted for him to be punished. The post included a link to the online petition urging the police to bring him to justice, with Lo commenting: "Wanted?? This afternoon I'm going back to China. See ya... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1586808/man-being-probed-putting-dog-washing-machine-claims-have-fled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1586808/man-being-probed-putting-dog-washing-machine-claims-have-fled?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2014 21:00:30 +0000 A man who apparently put a dog in a washing machine and posted photographs on Facebook showing it struggling in the water has sparked a police investigation into suspected animal cruelty. The pictures of the small white dog submerged in water and being spun round in the machine appeared on the Facebook page of a user going by the name of Jacky Lo. The photographs were accompanied by a smiley icon. In response to a comment underneath asking if the dog was dead, Lo answers: "Yes! Do you want to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1586160/outcry-over-dog-washing-machine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1586160/outcry-over-dog-washing-machine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2014 21:00:00 +0000 The BBC has been accused of overcautious self-censorship for cutting a lesbian kiss scene in the first episode of the new Doctor Who series when it premiered in Hong Kong last weekend. Thousands of fans missed out on the kiss between lizard-woman Madame Vastra and her human wife Jenny Flint, which the BBC says was cut to comply with broadcasting regulations in Asia. Local gay-rights groups called the edit "outrageous" and "scandalous" and said it was unfair not to treat the kiss the same as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1582043/bbcs-edit-doctor-who-without-lesbian-kiss-rankles-gay-groups-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1582043/bbcs-edit-doctor-who-without-lesbian-kiss-rankles-gay-groups-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2014 20:45:45 +0000 Many parents dread the day their child brings home a recorder from school - it signals the start of a period when peace at home will broken by high-pitched whistles, as the young novice tries to master the instrument. But thanks to the growing popularity of the ukulele in Hong Kong schools, an increasing number of parents are finding that they can sit back and listen to the strains of an instrument associated with the palm-fringed beaches of Hawaii instead. The ukulele is arguably Hong Kong's... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1580570/ukulele-gains-popularity-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1580570/ukulele-gains-popularity-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2014 02:23:57 +0000 Three-year-old Maddy squeals with joy on seeing her baby sister being carried into the room. "Can I hold baby, please?" she says. She wiggles up onto the sofa, sits down and holds out her arms as mum Nicole Luk places baby Briella into her arms. At just 75cm tall, Maddy is not much taller than the average one-year-old. Her arms and legs are much shorter than normal, making the task of climbing onto the sofa and holding her baby sister more of a challenge. But she beams with pride as she lovingly... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1554110/dwarfism-wont-hold-back-our-children-say-determined?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1554110/dwarfism-wont-hold-back-our-children-say-determined?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2014 01:15:15 +0000 A luxurious golf and tennis academy being built in Sai Kung has been branded a "blot on the landscape" because of 14 huge towers erected to support nets on its driving range. The towers rise as high as 50 metres and dominate the hillside of Pak Kong, an area reserved for recreation and agriculture. They have been called an eyesore by a community group and residents, who questioned why such a development was given approval. Questions have also been raised over why permission was granted for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1542616/huge-driving-range-towers-sai-kung-called-blot-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1542616/huge-driving-range-towers-sai-kung-called-blot-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jun 2014 21:41:21 +0000 Like any mother, Louise Siu Pui-yee was overcome with emotion when her son Remus first called her mummy. He was 18 months old and it was a word she never thought she would hear. In fact, she didn't actually hear the word - she saw it. Remus was born profoundly deaf and he communicated that special first word by putting his finger on his chin - the sign for mummy. That was when 34-year-old Siu understood the value of sign language and realised the time she had invested in learning it alongside... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1534124/childrens-sign-language-programme-under-threat-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1534124/childrens-sign-language-programme-under-threat-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2014 02:01:38 +0000 A year ago, he was a homeless down and out. Today, he is one of the city's frontline crime fighters. The remarkable transformation of Rocky the Rottweiler from street dog to police dog came after an animal welfare charity introduced him to the Hong Kong Police dog unit. He graduated from police dog school last month after 16 weeks of intensive training. The two-year-old was found last September by inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals (SPCA) wandering around Yuen... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1527732/rocky-rottweiler-one-citys-newest-crime-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1527732/rocky-rottweiler-one-citys-newest-crime-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jun 2014 21:30:45 +0000 Failure is a word Dr Kenneth Ginsburg hates using. "It is such a strong word. It sounds so final," he says. But as much as he dislikes the word and the negative connotations it carries, Ginsburg believes that, as experiences go, failure can be pretty positive for teenagers and one which parents shouldn't fear. In fact, he believes it's necessary, and when parents try to prevent their children from failing, they are depriving them of an experience which will make them stronger and better able to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1467098/letting-your-child-fail-now-may-help-them-succeed-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1467098/letting-your-child-fail-now-may-help-them-succeed-future?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Apr 2014 01:45:00 +0000 It's that time of year when tradition calls for us to sit down and list resolutions to improve our lives and make us better people. Research from the past 12 months shows there is much Hong Kong families can do together to make the new year happier and healthier. Get the family moving Getting more exercise is a resolution made by countless people every year. But despite the best intentions, research suggests we aren't doing enough. Data published in November by the American Heart Association... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1393210/eight-ways-families-improve-their-health-and-well-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1393210/eight-ways-families-improve-their-health-and-well-being?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2013 13:07:18 +0000 The newly defined dolphin style of parenting is not the first to capture attention in recent years. Yale law professor Amy Chua's 2011 book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother outlined a parenting style that was high on discipline, and placed study before play dates and fun. Then there was eagle dad He Lieshing, whose extreme no pain, no gain, parenting style sent his four-year-old son Duoduo running near-naked through the snow-covered streets of New York. Other parenting styles include the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1341921/dolphin-parents-aim-happiness-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1341921/dolphin-parents-aim-happiness-now?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Oct 2013 11:00:00 +0000 Do you hover over your children and swoop when they need advice, or do you mow down every obstacle in their path? If the former, you're a helicopter parent, if the latter, a lawnmower parent. Parenting methods have been given some strange labels in recent years, with the most fearsome being the tiger mother who puts studying ahead of play dates and fun. Click to view larger graphic  But now a style named after the sociable, intelligent dolphin is causing something of a splash by claiming that a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1341923/tiger-mums-could-learn-lesson-sociable-playful-dolphin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1341923/tiger-mums-could-learn-lesson-sociable-playful-dolphin?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Oct 2013 10:30:15 +0000 Pet owners are being warned not to let their dogs drink or swim in streams after a spate of deaths from a disease caused by bacteria often carried by rats. Ten dogs out of at least 12 that have fallen ill in recent weeks with leptospirosis - a water-borne disease also potentially fatal to humans - have died. One remains seriously ill in a veterinary hospital after undergoing a blood transfusion. Many of those infected became ill after walks around The Peak, Pok Fu Lam and Sai Kung. The threat is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1310038/pet-owners-warned-after-water-borne-disease-leaves-10-dogs-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1310038/pet-owners-warned-after-water-borne-disease-leaves-10-dogs-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It's Friday afternoon and the hall at Renaissance College in Ma On Shan is packed with about 250 domestic helpers. They are not waiting to collect students, but chatting and whooping with delight as children serve them drinks and food, while others entertain with dancing and singing. "It's fantastic," says Laura, who has worked in Hong Kong for 10 years. "It's a lovely way to spend two hours ... it makes us feel appreciated." That's just what Kathryn Bignold and Carol Paterson, the teachers who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1231489/hong-kong-kids-need-learn-self-care-skills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1231489/hong-kong-kids-need-learn-self-care-skills?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 If they were to mimic a scene from the movie Jaws, one of the fishermen might say: "We're going to need a bigger rod." In a video that yesterday went viral, a six-foot (1.83m) shark emerges from the sea in Sai Kung to shock two anglers reeling in a fish. The video posted on Facebook shows one of the anglers struggling, with the shark at one stage appearing to grab the fish on his rod as his pal records the extraordinary scene. Speaking in Cantonese, the two speculate about the size of the shark,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1219241/fisherman-duels-shark-sai-kung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1219241/fisherman-duels-shark-sai-kung?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:09:20 +0000 A glass-bottomed plane by Virgin Atlantic, a new Google search that allowed you to search and sniff smells and a plan to milk the feral cows of Sai Kung, were just some of the pranks floating around on April Fools' Day yesterday. In the true spirit of April 1, people all over Hong Kong were made fools of ... at least for a few seconds with a variety of jokes which were mostly aimed at internet users. Google excelled by claiming to have launched Google Nose: a new addition to the search engine... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1204940/sai-kung-dairy-prank-joins-host-april-fools-day-jokes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1204940/sai-kung-dairy-prank-joins-host-april-fools-day-jokes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:28:48 +0000 Country park officials have set up barriers and planted bushes to stop herds of feral cows harassing weekenders and scavenging food from barbecue sites. The move comes amid concerns over so-called "cannibal cows" that have been seen eating meat including beef from popular spots for weekend visitors in Sai Kung Country Park. Warning signs, bollards and shrubs have been installed by the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) around the barbecue area at Wong Shek Pier where... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187289/officers-step-battle-rein-sai-kungs-feral-cattle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1187289/officers-step-battle-rein-sai-kungs-feral-cattle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Dog owners are being warned to be on their guard after the deaths of up to four dogs from suspected poisoning at Big Wave Bay in Shek O. The animals died within days of one another after displaying identical symptoms associated with poisoning from the highly toxic herbicide paraquat. It is commonly used as a weedkiller in Hong Kong but was banned in Europe in 2007. One owner found bones tinged greenish blue close to the area where the dogs lived and were walked, a veterinarian said, indicating a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1065972/poison-suspected-killing-four-dogs-big-wave-bay-shek-o?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1065972/poison-suspected-killing-four-dogs-big-wave-bay-shek-o?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A boatload of Hong Kong yachtsmen have gone overboard to help a charity drive - by stripping down to bare essentials in a cheeky calendar. Twenty-five members of the Hebe Haven Yacht Club took it all off for the Nauti-Buoys calendar, launched last weekend at the club's annual 24-Hour Charity Dinghy Race. They stopped short of revealing all by using well-placed nautical props. The calendar, which was dreamed up by four female members of the Sai Kung club who took inspiration from the 2003 movie... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1060574/hebe-haven-nauti-buoys-calendar-proves-popular-all-year-round?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1060574/hebe-haven-nauti-buoys-calendar-proves-popular-all-year-round?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Seven-year-old Ben Jabal began wrapping up one very important gift long before most people had even begun compiling their Christmas shopping lists. He decorated the box by hand and then added a careful selection of items: something to cuddle, something educational, something useful and something to wear. When he finished he proudly handed the box over to his mother, Susie Heinrich, and said: 'I'd really like to have this under our tree.' 'That's good,' Heinrich told him. 'It means you've made a... https://www.scmp.com/article/988076/bundles-joy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988076/bundles-joy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Changes in the school curriculum helped spur an interest in the work of charities such as Oxfam, says Paris Law Yuk-lan, education manager for Oxfam Hong Kong. Liberal studies, introduced as a compulsory subject in the new senior secondary curriculum in 2009, includes a module on globalisation which looks at issues like poverty and fair trade. It's why many schools encourage pupil involvement in charities and NGOs. Poverty also features in the geography curriculum. 'Schools are now more... https://www.scmp.com/article/988075/start-them-young?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988075/start-them-young?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It was February 1976 when soldier David Lewis fell ill at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He complained of feeling weak and feverish; within days he was dead. An autopsy attributed his death to H1N1, or human swine flu. Thirty-five years later and 13,000 kilometres around the world, Lewis' death and the chain of events it set in motion are still having repercussions in Hong Kong, according to Medical Association vice-president Dr Alvin Chan Yee-shing. They are at the root of fears about the safety of... https://www.scmp.com/article/980921/paranoia-threatens-unleash-epidemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/980921/paranoia-threatens-unleash-epidemic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Health care workers should be targeted more thoroughly in Hong Kong's vaccination programmes because of their low vaccination rate in previous years, Dr Alvin Chan Yee-shing says. Department of Health figures show the uptake of the vaccine among public sector health care workers dropped from 44,000 in 2009-10 to 24,000 in 2010-11, even though they were included in the free programme. Chan, chairman of the Medical Association's vaccination task force, said that represented only 20 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/article/980920/health-staff-need-shots-avoid-them-spreading-flu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/980920/health-staff-need-shots-avoid-them-spreading-flu?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 There are four habits parents should be teaching children when it comes to money management, according to Dr Alice Wilder an internationally recognised children's education specialist. They are: earn, save, spend and donate. These are the four concepts which Wilder, working with Prudential and Cartoon Network, has used in the making of Cha-Ching, a new cartoon aimed at helping parents build money-smart values in children aged seven to 12. 'Kids tend to do what they see us do as adults, and what... https://www.scmp.com/article/980083/earn-save-spend-and-donate-four-habits-children-should-learn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/980083/earn-save-spend-and-donate-four-habits-children-should-learn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Anika is only four, but she has already grasped the concepts of saving for a rainy day and charity. She has told her mother Susanna Tsoi Lin-yung that the HK$2 and HK$5 coins she regularly drops into her piggy bank will one day pay for things for her mother - or help someone in need. It's a heart-warming thought and especially so in a world where running up debts and spending on credits cards seem to be the norm. But then it is not surprising that Anika is showing good money habits at such an... https://www.scmp.com/article/980084/time-well-spent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/980084/time-well-spent?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Ocean Park has abandoned its plan to import wild-caught beluga whales from Russia, following an outcry from animal welfare groups. Chairman Allan Zeman and his fellow executives decided yesterday morning to drop the option of bringing in the near-threatened species for the park's new Polar Adventure attraction, which opens next year. The U-turn comes even though Ocean Park has an option on six belugas caught in the wild last year and being kept in a holding facility in Russia and has begun... https://www.scmp.com/article/977561/beluga-whales-wont-be-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/977561/beluga-whales-wont-be-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Jeff Fatt was on the roof of his house fixing tiles when a phone call came through from his friend Anthony Field asking for help. Field, a trainee early childhood teacher at Sydney's Macquarie University, was recording children's songs for a project he was doing with two other students. 'I told Jeff we needed that piano boogie woogie thing he did so well,' Field recalls. 'He asked how long would it take? I said a couple of hours.' That was 20 years ago. Fatt, who had previously worked with... https://www.scmp.com/article/977341/still-plenty-wiggle-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/977341/still-plenty-wiggle-space?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Dr Sophia Ng Mo-tack doesn't have to go far from her chiropractic office in Central to see potential patients. She sees them everywhere she goes. On the MTR, in coffee shops, sitting on benches in Hong Kong Park and wandering around shopping malls. There's nothing unusual about their appearance. They are average-looking teenagers - sometimes in school uniform, sometimes in casual clothes. But what gives them away is their posture: heads down, shoulders hunched in a curve as their thumbs and... https://www.scmp.com/article/976755/dont-be-slouch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/976755/dont-be-slouch?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000 A growing number of Hongkongers are at risk of developing a condition doctors call 'iPhone syndrome' by overusing their smartphones. Dr Sophia Ng Mo-tack, of the Hong Kong Chiropractors' Association, said practitioners were seeing more and more cases of people with a range of symptoms which they believe could be caused by bad posture while using smartphones and handheld game devices. Many cases involve people in their 30s, sometimes younger, suffering aches and pains normally associated with... https://www.scmp.com/article/976167/growing-risk-iphone-syndrome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/976167/growing-risk-iphone-syndrome?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It is a challenge to find any form of entertainment in Hong Kong that costs less than HK$200 for a family of four - let alone one that can be stretched out for the best part of a day and offers a choice of activities ranging from archery, tennis, roller-skating and swimming to karaoke and mahjong. But if you are prepared to venture a little off the beaten track, it can be done. The Po Leung Kuk's Pak Tam Chung Holiday Camp in Sai Kung offers the ideal solution for any parent struggling to find... https://www.scmp.com/article/975589/pak-tam-chung-holiday-camp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/975589/pak-tam-chung-holiday-camp?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000 'They grow up too soon.' It's a phrase parents utter and hear often these days as they observe their young daughters or friends' daughters apply make-up and mimic the dress styles of their pop idols. This is often accompanied with light-hearted amusement and sometimes even with pride. But parenting author and mother of two young girls, Tanith Carey, believes it's a phrase that should instil fear in all parents of girls. Her book, Where Has My Little Girl Gone?, looks at the modern-day... https://www.scmp.com/article/973045/where-has-my-little-girl-gone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/973045/where-has-my-little-girl-gone?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Encouraging sensory development through stories needn't be expensive, says teacher Lorna Banfield, and if you can't find an appropriate sensory book to suit the age of your child, with a little imagination you can create your own. Banfield, the English co-ordinator at The Jockey Club Sarah Roe School for children with learning difficulties, recommends choosing a story suitable for the age of your child and then making a story bag, which you fill with interactive props to touch, feel and even... https://www.scmp.com/article/972412/picture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/972412/picture?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It's a common misconception that a child needs to be able to read to love books. Primary teacher Lorna Banfield would argue it is not the case, and you only have to watch a toddler exploring a pop-up book or the textures of a cloth book to find proof. Banfield, English co-ordinator at The Jockey Club Sarah Roe School in Kowloon, says for children with learning difficulties who struggle to learn to read, this kind of interactive and sensory books continue to be an invaluable tool, as not only a... https://www.scmp.com/article/972413/worlds-explore-their-fingertips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/972413/worlds-explore-their-fingertips?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 There are probably many Hong Kong parents intrigued with the title of Bryan Caplan's book, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. In a city of money-savvy people, soaring property prices, high school fees and high expectations, and where the cost of bringing up one child runs into millions, most would say it is common sense to have fewer, not more. So how does Caplan, a United States economics professor, set about trying to persuade couples and parents to think again before they decide 'not... https://www.scmp.com/article/971726/new-approach-parenting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971726/new-approach-parenting?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The television and computer screen present two of the biggest obstacles to family meals and healthy eating. A study by Chinese University claims children now spend an average of 31/2 hours a day watching television, working on computers and reading. Overloaded with studies, many children eat or snack while working or watching television, which has been linked to childhood obesity. A study by the University of Minnesota found that children in families who watched television while eating meals... https://www.scmp.com/article/971731/turn-box?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971731/turn-box?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It is early evening, and Carol Law Kam-yee is preparing a meal at home with fresh ingredients that her domestic helper bought that day from the wet market in nearby Sham Shui Po. Helping out in the kitchen are her sons Jason and Rooney, aged ten and seven. When the dishes are cooked, they will all eat together. It is quality family time, Law says. That is something many Hong Kong families are missing out on because of busy work and school schedules and a reliance on convenience food, takeaways... https://www.scmp.com/article/971732/make-meal-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/971732/make-meal-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Put a gang of overactive kids in a dimly lit room, give them a paintball and permission to throw it around at random and you can guarantee they'll love it. It's hard to imagine a group of children not having fun at Paintball Headquarters - unless they are on the receiving end of too many paintballs which, according to several of our all-girl paintballing party, sting if they hit certain places. But what's a little pain in return for firing gelatin-coated balls of coloured water at your... https://www.scmp.com/article/970997/road-test-paintball-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/970997/road-test-paintball-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000