Childcare of the World
This section will cover childcare practices of the world.
| Europe | |||
| Austria | Belgium | Denmark | Sweden |
| Norway | Finland | Poland | United Kingdom |
| France | Germany | Czech Republic | Spain |
| Switzerland | Luxemburg | Italy | Portugal |
| Netherlands | Russia | Ireland | Hungary |
| Asia | |||
| Japan | China | South Korea | Philippines |
| Taiwan | Vietnam | Thailand | Cambodia |
| Laos | India | Malaysia | Brunei |
| Singapore | Indonesia | Myanmar | Nepal |
| Pakistan | Afghanistan | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka |
| North America | |||
| United States | Canada | Hawaii | Guam |
| Saipan | Mexico | Panama | Jamaica |
| Costa Rica | Bermuda | Barbados | Bahamas |
| Dominica | Trinidad & Tobago | Guatemala | Cuba |
| South America | |||
| Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile |
| Colombia | Ecuador | Guyana | Paraguay |
| Peru | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela |
| Africa | |||
| Ethiopia | Egypt | Zimbabwe | Tanzania |
| Kenya | Senegal | Ivory Coast | Guinea |
| Ghana | Nigeria | Rwanda | South Africa |
| Australia & Oceania | |||
| Australia | New Zealand | Papua New Guinea | |
Vinegar for fever
Soak the socks with vinegar and it will work, to lower the fever.
Bicycle ride
Wherever you go, you take your bicycle in Austria. Children ride at the back in their "child car seat?", no "child bicycle seat".
Bugs in the woods
Watch for those bugs in the woods, they carry the disease called, Teken. Children can be immunized to prevent Teken. Łtop
Start with fruits
Babies' first food can be fruits in Belgium. Yes they do enjoy those baby foods in jars as well.
Clean hands
Children in Belgium seldom wash their hands before having their snacks. I guess everything is quite clean there.
Moms back to work
After 3 months, mothers usually go back to work. In other words, the kids are placed in day care as early as 3 months old.Łtop
Environment friendly
Everything is put in glass jars in Denmark, so when you go shopping, be prepared to work those muscles. Being very environmentally conscious, the people of Denmark believe in recycling material.
Care for the children with special needs
Children with special needs are well taken care in Denmark. Social workers make sure that one gets the service he/she needs.
Creativity
Denmark emphasizes creativity and imagination on children.Łtop
Childcare leave
Even fathers take a leave in order to raise their children.
Free medical care
Isn't it wonderful that you don't even have to pay for the dentist visit? All medical care is taken care, one need not worry about co-payment, or health insurance. Of course it is paid indirectly by their taxes.
Big fat tires
With the snow so deep during winter, Swedish strollers need to have strong, big, fat tires on the wheels.Łtop
Health Station
After the child is born, he/she is taken care at the Health Station. They would do the immunization, nutrition check, developmental assessment, check on growth, breast milk care, family planning, and more.
Snake
Watch out for that poisonous snake, the only poisonous snake in Norway.
Precious sun
Take every opportunity to be exposed to the sun, because the sun is so precious in Norway. Even day care staff would wear a bikini when the sun is out.Łtop
Fever medicine
Fever medicine works miracles. It can be used for aches and pains as well. Even when your child is teething, the doctors recommend medicine for fever. it works faster because they use it from the bottom.
Hats hats hats
Children in Finland can be wearing hats throughout the year. Especially winter time when they need to cover their ears from frost bites.
Drink water
It is said that you can drink tap water in Finland. It is recommended that kids drink more water than those packed sweet fruit juice.Łtop
It's really cold
You can't compare the coldness of Poland during winter. You need to really bundle up. Kids wear boots that has thick bottom and boots that comes up close to the knee.
Waiting list
Public education begins from preschool and public preschools are quite popular. One needs to be on the waiting list in order to be enrolled.
Helpers from abroad
You can get domestic help in Poland, but some come from Russia, which is very far away. You might have trouble communicating with them as they may not have phones at home when they don't show up.Łtop
Free medical
England has a universal health plan called NHS. Children do not need to pay for any medical expenses. The plan even covers dentistry up to age 18 and if you are a full time student, you will be covered even up to 19.
Rosemary for atopic dermatitis
It is believed that if you mix the herb of rosemary with sun flower oil and apply it over the affected area, the eczema is supposed to ease.
Shoes that fits
Just because toddlers have soft feet does not mean that they require soft shoes. In fact, those little ones who are just beginning to walk need a good leather shoes that will fit them well and with shoe laces. The shoe shops registered with Children's Foot Health Register will have consultants who will measure every aspect of the child's feet to match them with the perfect shoes.
Naughty chair
It is the custom of England to send a child to his room or to place him / her in a naughty chair when they were not behaving. The English also take away privileges from children when they had done something they were not supposed to. In Japan, many parents make them do extra chores.Łtop
Buttons at the back
Paris is the center of fashion. Babies are not exceptional. They have designs that are so fancy, it's hard to believe some of these baby clothes are actually for infants. Many have buttons and zippers on the back so the design in the front will not be affected by them.
Prescriptions lined up
When you go to the doctor's office, you will be surprised to see many envelopes attached to the bulletin board. You might wonder what it may be. Well, it's the prescriptions in the envelopes. In France, you can discuss the symptoms with the doctor and if he thinks you need not come all the way to the doctor's office and pay so much for consultation, he/she will just write you a prescription so you will be treated with medicine.
Parents do not apologize
When a child acts out and does some sort of harm to another child, it is believed to be the parents' responsibility to apologize on behalf of the child who still does not know what has happened in the Japanese society, but in France, if the wrong doing is done by the child, the parents do not apologize. They say, "well, it's my child, I haven't done anything wrong, so why should I apologize?"
All sorts of daycare centers
It is surprising to see many different kinds of daycare centers in Paris. Every parent has different needs and require different kinds of daycare settings. Not one center should fit all the needs of French families.Łtop
Doctors and vacation
Doctors in Germany take vacation every season, so that is 4 times a year and 2 weeks long each. So, you can expect the doctor's office getting really crammed up before he is to leave for his vacation. But the doctors take turns taking vacation and there is always a back up doctor while the main doctor is away.
Going to bed early
Children are to be sent to bed early in Germany, and as early as 7pm. Besides, children's TV program ends at 7pm, unlike the US where we have cartoon channels way beyond midnight. Even school children go to bed around 7 or 8pm, never so late as some Japanese kids who stay up until 11pm or 12am waiting for their fathers to arrive home.
Leather shoes
Good leather expensive shoes are recommended as soon as babies begin walking. The Germans believe that it is those first few steps that are important, to get a good solid leather shoes. They may cost as expensive as 70 to 80 dollars a pair.
Man and Women are equal
Germans believe in equal partnership between men and women. Boys are taught to say, OK to serve tea to women or play house if he wants to.Łtop
Home visit
Where do doctors make home visits these days? Czech, yes. You don't have to take your baby suffering with fever to the doctor. The doctor will make home visits.
Thumbs up for working mothers
Where most women work, in Czech, you can get a year off after your first child is born, and 2 years off after your second child is born. What's more of a good news is that while you are attending your child at home, during your leave, you can get part of it paid.
Sick leave
It's amazing that in Czech, you can even get a week off to attend to your sick child. Fabulous. Great system.Łtop
Late dinner
Even little children will have dinner at 9pm just like the adults, so between lunch and dinner, they usually have a snack around 6 or 7pm.
Beef as a start
What does babies in Spain have for their first food? They have beef.
Babies that smell nice
Even babies wear eau de toilette, so Spanish babies smell soooo nice.Łtop
Father
In Italy, father is the central figure in the family. He is respected, he sits at the best place at the dinner table, usually the head of the table where he can see the entire family.
Rabbits for meal?
Rabbit meat is not rare in Italy. Even small children, as young as infants eat rabbit meat.
Cheese
How do Italian babies take in protein? They have cheese. They would powder the cheese and then make it in a little ball size for toddlers to eat with their fingers.Łtop
Layers of clothes
Some parts of China can get really cold. The Chinese tend to place layers and layers of clothes over small children that you think they can hardly walk.
| Crack in their pants
I could not believe this unique innovative pants with a big gap opening in the middle until I actually had one sent to me and saw the item. Yes, these small children wear this pants so they can do their business whenever and wherever they feel like doing without pulling their pants down. (photo : unknown) |
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All day toilet training
In China they start toilet training kids at as early as age before they turn 1, so you just can't expect them to have bladder control of their own. They can end up sitting on the potty the entire day, even having lunch over the potty.
Overcrowded daycare centers
You can have as many as 50 children per class in some daycare centers in China because of the lack of space, high demand and few teachers. Because some parents work quite far away from the daycare center, they would leave the child at the center for the entire week and have them over at home on weekends.Łtop
Western vs Eastern medicine
You will find pharmacy all over Seoul. But when you take a close look, you will find that there are Western and Eastern pharmacy. In Eastern pharmacies, they have all sorts of herbs, tree barks, bones, animal parts, etc. They would usually steam it and add water or brown sugar to make it easy to go down your throat. Even children take these herb medicine.
High expectation
Koreans place high value on education. They send their children to after school activities. Going to English classes have been popular these days and children learn to write before they enter school.
Car accident
They say that the top cause of injury is car accident. I have noticed that the drivers in Korea were rough and they do not follow careful rules on driving. Children fear walking on sidewalks so they take the school bus to even walking distance kindergarten.
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Piggy back babies Koreans carry their babies on their backs. They securely tie their babies, wrapped in a quilting blanket. This tiny baby was only few months old, but he was held well.Łtop (photo by Nora Kohri) |
Nursing until 4
In some rural region of the Philippines, babies are breast fed until about age 4. That's pretty long, isn't it, well, according to whose standard??
Coconut juice
Have you ever tried coconut juice? it's crystal clear and taste a bit sweet. It's the drink for both children and adults.
All women in one bedroom
Women all sleep in one bedroom and the men in the other. So when I say women, that includes, mother, sister, aunts, and whoever belongs to that gender.Łtop
Shave their heads
It is believed that if you shave your head, then new strong hair would grow out. Even little girls, babies are shaved.
Use of nebulizer
Cities like Buenos Aires has problems with the pollution. Many children are affected by it and have asthma. Almost every household has a nebulizer to stabilize their symptoms.
Coveralls
Children from kindergarten to high school wear school uniforms, even in public schools, but they wear coveralls, well maybe I should say an covered all apron.
Watch your step
When you walk on the streets of Argentina, you must be aware of what you are stepping on, because often times you end up stepping on the most unpleasant scent and texture. Yes, here in Argentina, there is no law that one has to pick up after doŁtop
Protect your skin from the sun
The sun ray can be quite strong and harmful to children's skin. The media advice parents to protect their children's skin by wearing a hat that has an extension of cloth to cover the back of the neck.
Feels good to be on bare feet
Kids in Australia, do not like shoes. They love to be out on their bare feet. So you might see children running around without their shoes on. Not because they can't afford shoes, but more so because it feels good without them.
Lots of green fields
Many school grounds of Australia are covered by grass. Again, it must feel nice to their feet.Łtop
Can't stand the heat
Kiwi kids not just can't eat hot stuff, but also, they can't take hot shower. They like it nice and lukewarm, almost to the extent of having a cold shower.
Uniforms in school
Most private schools have uniforms in New Zealand, but it was not like that in the past. They also wear Slave Sandals which are made out of used tires.
Eucalyptus leaves
The leaves itself is poisonous, but the extracted oil can be useful in soothing your breathing. Łtop