In October 2015, China announced that the iconic "one-child policy" was finally replaced by the universal two-child policy, which meant that the Chinese government allowed all married couples to have two children for the first time in decades. However, due to the long-term family planning policy, contemporary Chinese parents lack the experience of raising a second child. Therefore, how to raise two children scientifically and handle the sibling relationship between the firstborn children and the newborn children is an urgent problem for Chinese society. This research aims to explore the parenting style in the two-child family from both firstborn child and parent's perspective and investigate how parents' parenting styles change before and after the second child born. Past research usually ignored children's subjective views on their life circumstances. As a family member, the firstborn child has wholly experienced the family change, can put forward their own opinion and make reasonable parenting style suggestions. Thus, This research is even more essential under the universal two-child policy. It will provide a unique parenting style suggestion from children and parents.

Same-sex behaviours and relationships have long been recorded in Chinese history. Most of the extant literature reveals male same-sex relationships. Such relationships involved individuals from different hierarchical backgrounds such as emperors or wealthy masters and their young male servants. Female same-sex activities were inadequately discussed but recorded in polygamous family context. Those who had same-sex relationships were tolerated because they fulfilled family responsibilities. Filial piety has given the central values in such familial responsibilities, that is, traditional familism – those adult children have to have heterosexual marriages and descendants. Family fulfilment was the prerequisite for them to explore other sexual relationships. Same-sex practices and heterosexual marital status have co-existed in Chinese tradition, even today. However, same-sex life within family system cannot be accepted anymore due to the influence of social change movements such as westernisation, individualisation, neo-familism and feminism, through which those who have same-sex desire have started to explore and realise their sexual identity, their personal happiness and rights. My PhD research looks at Chinese families where gay and lesbian adult children have long disclosed their sexuality to their parents to see a changing family system.