Image source: Network

And look at the parents with babies in China, almost all of them are like this:

Foreigners take care of a group of children alone? How did they do it?

Only during this period, teacher Tang Wei, an old friend of Laila's mother, took two babies on a "study tour" in the United States. Let's quickly connect with Mr. Tang Wei and compare them to see why they are all taking care of the baby, but they are so different.

I lived in the top five cities in the United States for three months, and I was proud to have brought up two babies by myself in China, but I found myself dwarfed when I came to the United States.

Looking back, I was surprised when I first saw my father. Now I am used to seeing my mother passing by with a bunch of children.

Image source: provided by the author

Why is it easier for one person to take more than one baby in the United States than many people in China? According to my intentional comparison and secret observation during this period, I found some differences.

The convenience of public resources and private resources is different.

It's quite convenient to take the baby out in America. There are diaper tables in various public places, and maternal and child rooms can be seen everywhere. These public facilities greatly facilitate parents to take their children out. Even we often see babies less than one month old packed in safety baskets and going shopping, reading and playing with their parents.

In addition, public schools are free for children over 5 years old. Before 5 years old, libraries played a very important role in community education.

Take the mesa library, which I often go to, as an example. In addition to a large number of children's books, there are everything from finger books to pop-up books, from picture books to bridge books. There is also a children's activity area, four kinds of splicing materials including Lego, a children's kitchen, a painting area, and even various early education programs and touchable computer screens for children to learn and entertain.

Library children's activity area

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The main library and branch libraries will also offer story lessons, music lessons and dance lessons for children of different ages every day, and cooperate with local early education institutions for a long time to carry out free learning courses.

The teacher is handing out sandbags for dance lessons.

In China, there are too few public places suitable for bringing babies, either crowded playgrounds or expensive parent-child activities, not to mention nursing rooms. It is luck to meet them.

The children's industry has different service concepts.

Children's facilities in China are basically specially prepared for children: children under 3 years old basically need adults to accompany them all the time, children over 3 years old can play by themselves, and adults sit there and brush their mobile phones when they are bored.

Americans' business philosophy is obviously different, and the needs of children and adults are equally important.

For example, the YMCA chain gym in the United States has set up an adult fitness area and a children's play area. Adults can check the children's play at any time through the glass window of the room when exercising; Children's play areas have special care aunts to take care of children, so adults don't have to worry about outdoor or indoor activities.

This kind of gym has a membership system of one large and one small at the same time, and it costs less than RMB in 200 yuan for one month. Compared with the expensive custody fees and nanny fees in China, it is simply outrageous.

Different living habits

People in China always take all kinds of bags with them when they take their babies out. We are used to drinking boiled warm water and hot water. Most Americans drink bottled water and tap water directly, and just fill the fountain with empty bottles.

We are used to making complementary food for children, and Americans are used to "fast food complementary food". Buy a whole box of cans home, open them with different heating and feed them directly. After opening, it is a processed block food, which can be eaten directly after being bitten in the microwave oven for 5 minutes.

And diapers. While everyone in China is trying to quit diapers, Americans don't care at all. They often meet parents who buy pull-up pants for children aged 5-6 in supermarkets. The principle of raising a baby is how to worry.

Different Concepts of Parental Education

Americans are all "born people will take care of them, born people will take care of them", and few are left to the elderly to take care of their children.

Therefore, children are rarely spoiled by their own generations or consumed by their own extended families. They are not blindly accommodating, but consider the needs of children and adults at the same time.

The advantage of this one-to-many situation is that children are easier to discipline without being child-centered, while in an environment with many children, children's self-care ability will be relatively better.

Generally speaking, apart from economic factors, convenience is the first priority for Americans, and "playing" and "traveling" are more convenient and humanized. No one is involved in raising children by themselves, and children's education is easier.