We might even call it smart for the older generation to reap big benefits while pushing all the cost on the great-grand-children. The Canadian elderly did a good job of that too! Too bad the pyramid probably topples eventually. Some generation is going to hit a decade or two of hard times as all the environmental, health-care and retirement bills come due and are too big to roll over.

(I especially appreciate it when people that are actually anti-child don’t have them. I do however agree they should remember, someone else’s kids will be caring for them one day.)

Today I was in a pediatrician’s office, and my boys were playing nicely, but a wee bit loudly. I kept thinking the receptionist was going to shush them (maybe that was only my impression though), even though we were the only ones there, so the only person they might have been bothering was her (and I figure, occupational hazard!) She did in fact tell my toddler to sit on his bum not stand on the chair, even though I’d already told him that myself and was just waiting for him to comply. Then the doctor himself told my kids, after one asked a question, that they had to be “absolutely quiet” while we spoke. Granted, they need to work on not interrupting but they are also only 3 and 6, and both big talkers. Sitting absolutely quietly — not gonna happen. And again, in his line of work he hasn’t dealt with more disruptive kids than mine (or at least AS disruptive)? Hmmm…

Here via @VDog’s RT, this week.

You are correct. My mistake. I edited the post.

I grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, and am now living in Canberra, Australia, with my two young children. Even though Jakarta is a big polluted cosmopolitan city with limited open spaces for children, I found that Jakartans are very accommodating and friendly to children. In general, they are very tolerant to the noises children make in public places, the crying, the behaviour, the running around. Whenever I visit Jakarta, I never ever once feel uncomfortable taking my children anywhere. To weddings, markets, restaurants, hotel lobbys, etc.

In contrast, here in Canberra, I often feel uptight bringing my children to sit down restaurants, and I know other mothers who have been ‘asked’ to please ‘control’ their child at coffee shops etc.

It is true that cities in the ‘West’ offer, let’s say, child-friendly environment (clean air, water etc), and physical infrastructure (playground, sports oval, bike tracks) than urban centres in South East Asia. But often, I personally feel that this also cause some sort of segmentations as to where you should and should not take a young child.