Want Your Child To Connect With Chinese Culture? This Therapist Has Designed Stories That Work

A Chinese-Canadian mum and therapist has created what she couldn’t find: a culturally rich YouTube channel for the next generation of bilingual children

As Chinese New Year approaches, many parents in diaspora communities face a familiar challenge: how to pass on their heritage to children growing up between cultures and languages. Jen Loong-Goodwin, a therapist and mother to a mixed-race toddler in Singapore, answered this question in a unique way: she built a solution herself when she couldn’t find any existing content.

The solution is Long Long Tales 龙龙故事, a bilingual YouTube channel. Combining children’s Chinese content with Pixar-quality animation, this channel narrates visually compelling stories rooted in Chinese culture.

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Filling The Content Gap

The spark came during a quiet moment last December. “It was the Winter Solstice, a day typically reserved for family reunions,” Jen says while speaking to Sassy Mama. “I wasn’t sure how to explain to my son, in a toddler-friendly manner, why we do this, particularly on the longest evening of the year.”

She searched everywhere — on China-based platforms, international channels, song collections, and picture books. “What stood out wasn’t what I found, but that I didn’t find anything,” she says. “There was a surprising lack of high-quality cultural cartoons that prioritised storytelling over vocabulary.”

The existing landscape was dominated by sing-along formats (effective for toddlers but less engaging as children grow) or marathon 40-minute episodes that might not be suitable for children’s attention spans. “While both formats have their place, neither naturally invites family conversation or shared reflection — moments that actually help traditions feel alive and strengthen emotional connection across generations,” Jen says.

Around the same time, she was speaking with other mums who were planning entire trips back to China for 2026 — not for language immersion or school, but simply to spark their children’s excitement about their heritage. “That was when it clicked for me: if parents are willing to travel across the world just to help their children feel connected, then surely there was room to build something closer to home,” she says.

Read More: Chinese New Year — Dates & CNY Events For Families In Hong Kong

More Than Language Learning

Long Long Tales stands apart from typical Chinese learning content in its approach. Each five-to-six-minute episode is crafted around three pillars: storytelling, emotional learning and tradition. Jen says she made a deliberate choice to produce separate Mandarin and English versions of each story. “Reading captions in one language while listening in another can be overwhelming for young children in this age group,” she explains. The result is cinematic-style animation with depths of cultural nuance that can rival any mainstream children’s content.

Throughout 2026, the channel will release 50+ episodes across categories such as traditions, Chinese festivals, famous legends and more. 

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Designed To Start Conversations

What sets Long Long Tales apart is its therapeutic foundation. Take the What’s Really Inside Red Packets? episode, which explores the Legend of Sui. Rather than simply explaining the custom, “the episode ends with a child modelling how to write a kind message to an elder,” Jen says. “In the episode description, families are invited to create DIY red packets with hand-drawn notes. This builds on the spirit of red packet-giving to strengthen intergenerational connections.”

In the episode Why Is 2026 The Year of the Horse?, a granddaughter and grandmother share stories during a calligraphy session. A suggested family activity with Q&A is included in the episode. Through asking contemplative questions, like “What is one challenge you’ve faced where you showed bravery or strength?” families can feel closer to each other through honest sharing sessions.  

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The Psychology Behind The Stories

As a therapist specialising in working with Asian parents, Jen has witnessed firsthand how emotionally distant parenting affects adult relationships. “I aim to model emotional awareness through storytelling; not to teach it didactically, but to let it unfold naturally through the characters.”

Each episode is designed with child developmental needs in mind: belonging, curiosity, emotional safety and identity. “The motivation to learn a language like Chinese should not begin with obligation, as that is not sustainable, but with an emotional connection,” she says.

In the Year of the Horse episode, a character feels embarrassed about being born in the Year of the Pig. In the Red Packet episode, another child is scared of the Sui monster. “These scenes normalise big feelings and show children expressing them, while adults in the story simply receive them, without rushing to fix or judge. Visualising emotional safety can be a very powerful first step for behavioural change in family systems.”

The adult audience is equally important. “Many of us, especially in Asian cultures, grew up in environments where love was expressed through duty, achievement and self-sacrifice,” Jen reflects. “I hope that parents watching with their kids might see a different script modelled by these adult characters, who are warm, emotionally regulated and present, to open new ways of connecting with their children.”

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A Personal Mission

The channel’s name carries special significance. Both Jen and her son, Zaki Kai, were born in the Year of the Dragon. Their Chinese surname also contains the character 龙 (dragon). “This is how Long Long inspired the name of this channel as a tribute,” she says.

With eight episodes already live and dozens more in production, Long Long Tales arrives at a perfect moment: just as families prepare for Chinese New Year celebrations, searching for meaningful ways to share heritage with the next generation.