You can also buy stuff cheaper on taobao.
I think it’s a little early to start imposing gender roles, isn’t it?
Didn’t read thru it all so maybe has been mentioned:
Get a Chinese & English birth cert at the same time.
Have money on u when the baby is to be delivered. You’ll be running back and forth buying the Medicine that is required.
All the best.
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This does not compute! Lettuceboy needs his own hand-me-down gaming PC.
If they’re old enough to breathe they’re old enough to game!
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Going through a “silent period” is a well-known thing in bilingual children. Some children don’t start talking in the L2 until fourth or fifth grade even, but when they do, it’s often complete and complex sentences and with a decent vocabulary. But this is different than only responding in the “wrong” language. That, you can’t tolerate if you’re going to successfully raise a bilingual kid. Not speaking = fine. Talking in Chinese during English time or vice versa = address this immediately or you will lose.
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Up until now everything has been satisfactory.
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Congratulations!
I’m Canadian, wife’s Taiwanese. Had three daughters in Taipei, now living back in BC.
First up, change diapers, give baths, have patience, give lots of love, comfort and reassurance. Be that dad. It’s worth it. Be that husband: wife will appreciate it.
Language: my wife and I did what many others here recommend. Wife used Mandarin, I used English. When our daughters asked for anything, who ever they asked would tell them to ask the other parent, and report back. Kids learned to spontaneously translate. I read a couple of bed time stories each night. Sometimes, if I was too wiped out, I held the iPad while some app read the story. (Little Critter library is aces for the young ones… and the grammar’s good for language learners.) While we were living in Taiwan, entertainment was mostly in English: Blue’s Clues (so much so they picked up Steve’s mannerisms), Bubble Guppies, Octonauts… whatever. Once their Mandarin was strong enough, my wife started introducing Taiwanese into the mix. School teachers found it amusing that the mixed kid had maybe the best Taiwanese in the class.
School: eldest two when to the public school a block from our house. Eldest from pre-k through to Gr. 5; middle daughter from pre-k through Gr. 3. Eldest did great and really enjoyed herself. Resented leaving. Middle daughter did not excel. Had trouble making friends, performing to local standards (sometimes because of who she is, sometimes because local standards can be ridiculous). I was glad to get Daughter 2 out of there. All three girls are now enrolled in Canadian public schools. Daughter 1: just started at high school. Still a couple of years behind in reading and writing, and frustrated by English vocabulary (“Why so many words to say the same thing???”), but at the top of her class and impressing all her teachers. Daughter 2 is in Gr. 5. Again, a couple of years behind in English, but has friends, is comfortable and happy. Both are a couple of years ahead in Math. Both benefiting from having discipline and homework expectations drilled into them; both benefiting from having left. Eldest is still too focused on external validation… always wants straight A’s and praise. Youngest is in Gr. 1 and never went to school in Taiwan. Learning Mandarin and Taiwan in Canada is her challenge. But here, Mandarin is the recreational/ entertainment language.
My advice: read lots when they’re young. Associate English with fun. And when older, find ways to increase the breadth and depth of your child’s knowledge of English.
Food and culture: encourage the little one to love it all. They won’t. They’ll pick and choose. That’s fine. In Taipei, it meant my girls enjoyed burgers and shakes with me. Here, it means they enjoy mama’s favourites with her. All good. In Taiwan, it meant the eldest played ice hockey; here, it means the middle child is putting what she learned in her morning gymnastics class to good use at taekwondo. Only downside is that I have to reset the language on the Apple TV or Switch have they’ve had their fun. Pretty minor drawback considering how much broader their horizons are.
Oh, yeah, definitely get multiple copies of the Chinese & English birth certificates, and get the passports done asap.
Good luck. Get your sleep while you can.
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He was so much better than Joe.
Have you checked out Aiong Taigi on YouTube?
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a lot of stuff here about language… how about money? about how much do you need to have a reasonably good standard of living with a kid in Taiwan? to be more specific, in Taipei? 120k should be enough, or…?
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Here’s our budget with two kids in Taipei: November Expenses ~ The RN PhD Mom
But note that we’re extremely conservative. Many parents pay a lot more than us in expenses.
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Childcare - kindergarten, afterschool, is the big one
Great info there!
Thanks for sharing!
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How can you keep your food budget so low? I need tips.
You mention the masks as an expense. Worn only when sick. What does that mean? You obviously have to wear at all times at the moment.
what’s the “donation” for? I didn’t see any explanation for that. I’m guessing some sort of tithe.
yeah, I don’t see this on the budget.
I think my kid’s cost me three million NT to date.
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Sorry, this blog post is a few years old (pre-covid)!
To keep expenses down, we price compare everything. Sometimes, grocery stores are a better deal and sometimes the morning market is the way to go. Also, some morning markets are cheaper than others. We end up going grocery shopping 3-4 times a week at different locations.
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My wife stays home with the kids. We paid for half-day childcare during our first month when we were just getting set up.
If you’re interested, here’s our first month of expenses: The Cost of Moving to Taiwan: The First Month ~ The RN PhD Mom
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Yes, the donation is tithe. We have an amazing church that helped us get settled when we moved, and we enjoy giving back 
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doesn’t help much if you don’t say how old they are, lol…