We had an opportunity to accomodate my cousin from the Philippines for a night a couple of weeks ago. And he said to me while we were having our dinner, "The lifestyle here is really different isn't it?" after I asked hubby to give Clarisse a bath NOW (it was 8pm already and she was tired and a mess and getting crankier by the minute). In Manila, they would have ask a helper to bathe their children and continue on with their dinner.
Yes lifestyle is totally different because most tasks are accomplished by lesser number of people, in short, most people here do not employ maids, cooks, chaffeurs, gardeners, or yayas(nannies) in their households. I remember the misconceptions or impressions I had about people in first world countries. They mostly boil down to this lifestyle difference.
One common misconception - Western children are rude to their parents because as early as babies they are left alone to cry and not attended to. Just have a look at the heaps of crying babies with their parent/s in the mall.
Believe me it's not the intention of parents to let their children cry or throw a tantrum in public here. This scenario is not common in Manila because children there stay home with a carer most of the time. They come out to the malls to play. Any fuss is attended to immediately in the comforts of home.
Because I have to shop for our food and groceries too, I do not have anyone to leave Clarisse with at home. I have to bring her out with me. And because babies have their biological nap-play schedules, her nap time sometimes catches up on our shopping time. I would be zooming in and out of the supermarket aisles as fast as I can when she starts to fuss and by the time I made it to the checkout counter she'd be so worked up and upset. It never was my intention for her to cry in public but I have to prioritise our food supply for the week that day against her nap-play schedule.
No comments:
Post a Comment