Most families with children employ nannies or ayis. Typical arrangements are to have a full-time nanny from Monday to Friday, with the occasional evening shift. Several family-oriented, high-end hotels offer babysitting services for in-house guests. Generally, gyms and malls do not have babysitters, though IKEA has a very generous supervised play area. Many five-star international hotels such as Shangri-La’s China World Hotel, the Grand Hyatt Beijing and the Ritz Carlton have babysitting services. The ayi agencies listed above also offer babysitting and childcare services.

There are plenty of kid friendly restaurants around town; American Steak & Eggs (Xiushui Nanjie, Jianguomenwai, 010 6592 8088, www.steakeggs.com.cn) and Grandma’s Kitchen are perennial favourites. Western eateries such as Annie’s, Brasserie Flo, and Grandma’s Kitchen have kiddie corners where the little ones can play while parents and adults dine in relative peace.

Parent groups and organisations such as La Leche League and The Clubhouse at Qijiayuan provide expat parents with support, advice, and occasional social activities. Parent Support Group is a group for parents of children with special needs. Beijing also has several activity groups and educational centres aimed at childhood development.