good god

[nartweag]

its people like this that give childfree people a bad name. link to post in a childfree community (this is not the one i actually belong to, which does not allow such rants)so let me get this straight. you are in the waiting room at a doctors office. in a hallway outside this waiting room is a mother essentially playing tag with her toddler.you only

Comments

[mycelia]

I think it's really interesting that someone found that behavior annoying, when it was so clearly very far from the possibilities given the situation: enclosed in a building, long wait periods, and generally not perfectly happy people (since most people don't enjoy going to the doctor, or aren't feeling well when they get around to going).

I never thought about cultural differences with child rearing until being in Japan. It's so different here. I have lots of friends with 3 year olds (since, by the time you're my age, you have a least one kid around that age). Most of the kids drive me bonkers. But it's really the parenting style that drives me crazy. It's so hands off! I watch them with amazement as they kick each other, refuse to share with each other, scream at each other... all while the parents are having a cup of coffee together, ignoring their children. But it's cultural! They feel that for that age, they should be able to behave freely because they will spend the rest of their life controlling their behavior to fit the society. It's their free time years, so they just let it be. And anyone who happens to be nearby? They just ignore the kids. No one would dare say anything, not to the kid or the parent.

Funny huh? I've found I can only handle about 1 hr with the kids around before I have a headache and have to leave, and all the Japanese adults don't even seem to notice!