My Panda Paws: Helping Your Americanized Kids Learn Chinese

Posted on July 18, 2009 by John

My_Panda_PawsA friend of mine from business school just co-founded her new business and launched the website My Panda Paws, a great idea that others might be interested in. Started by two Chinese American moms who were born overseas married to “Chinese school dropout husbands” and have five young boys between the two them, they wanted to find products to help teach Chinese and connect their children with their heritage:

“My Panda Paws is determined to bring some Chinese into your family! We carry a large selection of high quality childrens books, DVDs, arts and crafts, and other related products to help you educate your children about the language and culture. We pick the BEST of the best products to make it easier for you and your children, and many of our products feature characters and subjects that you are already familiar with. Whether you are looking for something for yourself, or a gift for a birthday party or a baby shower, we are sure you will be more than satisfied.”

I’m not a parent nor do I have any children, but I do have quite a few Taiwanese and Chinese American friends who are parents and instantly saw the potential market need for such a site. Even in the Bay Area, I’m not sure where one might find a large selection of Chinese language learning materials, let alone outside of California.

As a kid, I had to go to Chinese school – usually Saturday mornings and then later, Sunday mornings when we went to a different school. I used to hate going to Chinese school because I would miss Saturday morning cartoons, have to wake up early and drive 30 to 45 minutes to the Chinese school. And to be honest, the classes were boring and having to memorize Chinese characters was quite arduous and challenging. I’d often rely on “bo-po-mo-fo” to be able to properly pronounce and “read” the Chinese characters associated with the phonetics. Any additional resources for kids are definitely helpful.

You can use the coupon code “paws” for a 15% discount, which is good until 8/15.

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About John

I'm a Taiwanese-American and was born & raised in Western Massachusetts, went to college in upstate New York, worked in Connecticut, went to grad school in North Carolina and then moved out to the Bay Area in 1999 and have been living here ever since - love the weather and almost everything about the area (except the high cost of housing...)
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