10,000 'Olympic Babies'

[Randy W]

10,000 ‘Olympic Babies’ Strain the Beijing System

With thousands more children than usual born in Beijing in 2008, a year considered by many to be lucky both for the number eight and for being the year that China hosted the Olympic Games, the state is scrambling to find enough school spaces for all the 6-year-olds heading to first grade this fall — about 10,000 more than last September.

 

. . .

 

Being an “Olympic Baby” is perhaps less than lucky for the children than the parents had hoped, with the crush suggesting strained resources due to increased competition among peers that may dog them through their lives — in education, job hunting and even medical care. Eight is a lucky number in China, and many people may time the birth of children to a year they consider auspicious. Having a child in the Year of the Dragon is also popular (that was in 2012).

 

“This year 176,000 students will begin school, about 10,000 more than last year,” Beijing News reported,

 

 

[Doug]

I guess things were rockin in 2007.... Hmmm, maybe some should have considered the conception in 2008, just to spread things out.

 

Nothing like conceiving

Edited April 26, 2014 by Doug (see edit history)

[Randy W]

I guess things were rockin in 2007.... Hmmm, maybe some should have considered the conception in 2008, just to spread things out.

 

Nothing like conceiving

 

Practice, Doug, practice. It's all about keeping in practice.