Chinese Zodiac for Kids and Parents

What does the Chinese zodiac have to tell us about our children — and how best to parent them?

Every parent strives to provide their child with the best (and most self-aware) support possible, and that objective encourages a process of seeking guidance from many sources of wisdom, including doctors and other child-rearing experts, family and friends. By knowing more about our children and how they are wired, we can hopefully parent them better, right? The Chinese zodiac can be another useful and fascinating source to find out more about our children’s natural attributes and charms — and give us parents some intelligence about how best to raise them to achieve their full potential.

Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 29, and children born during this year will be under the sign of the Snake. As the sign representing transformation in Chinese mythology, the Snake is a uniquely respected symbol in Chinese culture, as snakes represent elegance, mystery and intelligence. The Snake child is destined for great things.

If you’re expecting a little Snake, congratulations! Kids born under the sign of the Snake make sage and fair-minded leaders. 

To discover more about your child’s personality and natural gifts, locate his or her date of birth and corresponding Chinese zodiac sign in the table below, and be sure to read your own profile to see if you recognize the child within you.

• The Rat Child

• The Ox Child

• The Tiger Child

• The Rabbit Child

• The Dragon Child

• The Snake Child

• The Horse Child

• The Sheep Child

• The Monkey Child

• The Rooster Child

• The Dog Child

• The Pig Child

Chinese Calendar 1991–2025

For complete tables, check the Wikipedia.org Chinese Zodiac entry.

Editor’s note: This article was first published several years ago and was most recently updated by ParentMap’s editorial team in December 2024 with updated information for the Year of the Snake, new photography and copyediting.