Babies

Ok...let's talk about babies for a minute. Some of you may be wondering the differences between how we, as western mothers, do things and how the Chinese mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Great-Grandmothers, etc. do things. First, Chinese mothers have LOTS of help! As just stated, the elderly are taken care of by their kids and continue to help out with the grandchildren. Keep in mind, China still upholds the "only one child" rule. So, Great-Grandma has Grandma who has one child who again has one child. There are not a ton of cousins and such, running around. And, again, all children are adored here in China. They love them!

After having mentioned the "one child rule", I would like to also mention that this time around, I have seen many 2's and even a couple of 3's walking around with only one woman or couple. How it was explained to me, is that the Chinese government "penalizes" (and continues to do so) a family if they have more than one child. There are fees and tax penalties, etc. Also, it was explained that the children of a family with more than one child won't be eligible to get into certain schools throughout their childhood, etc. Also, what I'm seeing around town may also be a "friend" taking the kids for the day or someone who is helping out in some capacity. I'm not really sure.

As time goes on, I may find out many more things about how Chinese mothers do things as I may make Chinese friends. But, this is what I have observed so far...

I have mentioned this before, but mothers are often seen on the backs of scooters holding their infants while [usually] a man is driving. Scary...but true. Also, you will see moms riding their bicycles down the street holding their infant on their back by, what looks like, a big strap. Also, they will seat their young "wobblers" in their rear bicycle basket (no belts to strap them in).

Split pants. It is still quite a sight to see infants, wobblers and toddlers in what they call "split-pants". Little baby drawers (in the summer) and pants (in the winter) have a wide open "split" in the crotch area, giving the kids the ability to sit or squat anywhere to go to the bathroom...anywhere. Even the planters in the malls. As a mother of children who needed to be potty trained, I can understand the convenience of this attire. However, it's still quite a shocker witnessing a child going #2 in a planter...or anywhere else for that matter!

When my kids were just babies, I remember it took awhile for each child to get used to a particular type or brand of nipple on the bottles. Well, if we have baby #3 here, a "choice" might be an issue. So, hopefully, any child we may have will be content with one kind of nipple. The variety here is just not the same.

They do have formula, diapers and 'da kine' for babies. I remember being curious about that kind of stuff when I was in the States. However, as I mentioned previously, all the "portions" are smaller here. So, smaller bag of diapers, MUCH smaller tubes of diaper rash cream, etc. You just can't find the gargantuan size bottles and tubes of baby powder, cream, shampoo, etc.

They also have some neat things like, scented fans for babies and toddlers. These fans have ergonomically correct handles for little ones and when they fan themselves with them, you smell the scent of vanilla. Cool stuff like that! :)

Again, I have a lot to learn and discover about how things are done here regarding wee little ones. I look forward to the education. :)