Newswise — Clarkson University Clinical Adjunct Instructor of Education Yanqing Sun drew upon both her Eastern heritage and Western experiences to write about parenting and child development.
Now she's eagerly awaiting hard copies of her first book, Grow in Love, recently published in Chinese by the prestigious Beijing Normal University Press.
Based at Clarkson's Capital Region Campus in Schenectady, N.Y., the mother of two daughters and one son, ages 14, 10 and 6, respectively, said, “I wish I had the knowledge that I have today when I was a new mom.”
Sun, a native of Beijing, pursued her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in China, and then did her postdoc at the University of Toronto before moving to the Albany area. She teaches child and adolescent development and conducts related research at SUNY Albany, and is a clinical supervisor for teaching candidates at Clarkson.
While she includes personal examples from her family in the book, she also collected views over the years from Chinese and Chinese-American residents. The book balances Eastern and Western perspectives on parenting, and provides information on developmental psychology and neuro-science.
“When parents read my book, they can know how to apply the knowledge in real situations,” she said. “I was raised in China and have very deep feelings related to traditional parts of parenting, but I have learned a lot from living in the West. I think it's helpful for Chinese parents to know what's going on in both these worlds. I integrated research evidence from developmental psychology, neuroscience and family education, so the book is not just one mom's perspective.”
The book covers a set of basic principles when working with children, how to apply these principles in real situations across different developmental stages and the role of parenting as a whole, she said. It also discusses the development of life skills and good behavioral habits, emotional competence, peer interaction, and language.
“As the title of this book, Grow in Love, indicates, it's about love and growth, for both children and parents,” Sun said.
When she visits Beijing this summer, Sun plans to return with copies of her book. An electronic version of it should be available soon as well, in Chinese. Until then, anyone interested is welcome to contact her by email at [email protected], she said.
Clarkson University educates the leaders of the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as an owner, CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. With its main campus located in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the Capital Region and Beacon, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university with signature areas of academic excellence and research directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through more than 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, education, sciences and the health professions, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo and connect discovery and innovation with enterprise.
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