I’ve actually been rather impressed with what I see of Taiwanese men + their kids in public. I feel like I rarely see/saw a man alone with his children in America, but I very often see a father with one or two tykes out somewhere here in Taiwan. They also look very comfortable/happy/natural with their children, which to me suggests that they do a fair amount of the caregiving.
Of course I have heard from Taiwanese women my age who say they will never marry because now their duties have doubled- take care of the children, parents, house, food + have a job on top of it all. So maybe I’m not seeing the whole picture.
Still love to see a loving father out with his kiddoes though. Kids need time with both mom and dad, I believe.
I think that’s alright. Helicopter parenting might be a bigger impediment to a child’s happiness/ability to entertain themselves. It troubles me when I see parents who seem to see their role as being the child’s “entertainer” and if the kid is bored, mom and dad are scrambling to try to fix the “problem.” I’m much more for the “kids should make their own fun” idea of parenting. Safety might be an issue though.
[quote]
The one thing that really makes my blood boil is when the parents take their kids out on the scooters without a helmet on. [/quote]
This makes me crazy too. The parent is wearing a helmet! Why don’t they offer their child the same protection???
[quote=“NonTocareLeTete”]
I’ve actually been rather impressed with what I see of Taiwanese men + their kids in public. I feel like I rarely see/saw a man alone with his children in America, but I very often see a father with one or two tykes out somewhere here in Taiwan. [/quote]
This is because in the US, they think a man alone with his children = a child molester. Americans have become so paranoid about child abuse that they assume all men are child molesters despite stats showing women commit at least half of it. That attitude doesn’t seem to exist in Taiwanese culture.
[quote=“nonredneck”][quote=“NonTocareLeTete”]
I’ve actually been rather impressed with what I see of Taiwanese men + their kids in public. I feel like I rarely see/saw a man alone with his children in America, but I very often see a father with one or two tykes out somewhere here in Taiwan. [/quote]
This is because in the US, they think a man alone with his children = a child molester. Americans have become so paranoid about child abuse that they assume all men are child molesters despite stats showing women commit at least half of it. That attitude doesn’t seem to exist in Taiwanese culture.[/quote]
If that’s the case, it’s a sad thing indeed. Who loses out? The kids.
Where are the stats that women commit at least half of sexual abuse to children? I find it hard to believe but will certainly be swayed by stats from a reputable source.
Anyways I’m American and don’t see all men as child abusers. Although now that I think about it, a mother asked my brother not to play with his kids in a McDonald’s play place because her kids were playing there too and it made her “uncomfortable” =( very much doubt she would have said it to a woman.
Mao-mi, here are my concerns:
- Rent for a bigger place, because there is no space left in mine
- I don’t have a vehicle to ferry children to/from school or hospitals or other places, which means I would need to buy one, which is expensive.
- Formula and diapers
- Toys and trips to keep growing children intellectually stimulated
- Healthy food – it’s easy to eat NT$60 biandangs all day, but there’s no way I would feed that to a growing child
- Clothing
- Eventual school fees
But the most important one: Someone to look after the kid during the day. This would either have to be my wife’s responsibility, meaning I’m the only income earner, or we’d have to find a sitter, meaning spending $$$. At this point, we can afford neither. (And we don’t have any relatives nearby who would be able to help out.) That’s the main thing that makes me think I’m not ready for a kid.
So much prostitution, so many mistresses, and yet low fertility rates.
Must be a lot of birth control, Plan B, and/or abortion.