My family is from Northern Germany, and they've got the whole hat/sock paranoia thing going on too. They are also really into fresh air (even when it's 30-40°F outside), but believe 'drafts' will kill you. So this is usually how it goes: Grandmother: "It feels stuffy in here", opens window halfway and cold starts pouring in. Anyone else 15 minutes later: "I think I feel a draft!!!" Grandma runs to go shut the window. Rinse and repeat.
They also nap very well - bundled kids outside in the winter (above 20°F) in their strollers. They say the kids sleep better and it makes them tougher.
My cousin grew up on a Navajo reservation in the southwest, and everyone (including babies) takes a snow bath when it snows once or twice a year. They strip down naked and rub snow all over themselves, supposedly to make them used to the cold.
So my family is fresh off the boat so to speak, and I don't understand a few things that are considered American staples. The number 1 though, is Gerber. When my half-sister was about 6 months old, about 5 years ago, my grandmother and I were so confused as to why my step mother insisted on giving her pureed food from a jar. Not that I'm judgey about that! Not everyone has time to make their own baby food. But my grandmother was staying with them and she wanted to specifically make the kid food the same way she had for me and my father. My step-mother insisted that the food she bought was better.
Also, Schedules!! Anyone else who has family in South America will probably relate to this. I'm totally down with babies having nap-times and food times, but I never understood my friends/H's family who rushed their children home for naps/food. On my side of the family, the cousins typically just lay their kids down wherever. I don't think any way is wrong, but it's strangely different.
Did you change your sn? I feel like I recognize your avatar?
Haha. Yeah I did. I was akrystofiak, but since it wasn't the same as my username no one could tag me so I changed it to match.
My family is from Northern Germany, and they've got the whole hat/sock paranoia thing going on too. They are also really into fresh air (even when it's 30-40°F outside), but believe 'drafts' will kill you. So this is usually how it goes: Grandmother: "It feels stuffy in here", opens window halfway and cold starts pouring in. Anyone else 15 minutes later: "I think I feel a draft!!!" Grandma runs to go shut the window. Rinse and repeat.
They also nap very well - bundled kids outside in the winter (above 20°F) in their strollers. They say the kids sleep better and it makes them tougher.
My cousin grew up on a Navajo reservation in the southwest, and everyone (including babies) takes a snow bath when it snows once or twice a year. They strip down naked and rub snow all over themselves, supposedly to make them used to the cold.
A friend of mine has an H from the Netherlands. His family also really believes in cold, fresh air. It's the cure to everything! I kind of like this idea though, it's nice to know there's cultures not terrified of the cold!
I thought of another one!! Separate bedrooms for kids. My FIL and H both said that we didn't have enough room in our house for three adults and two kids, for when we decide to have another baby.
My mother then busted out her famous, "well I lived with my mother, father, grandmother, and six siblings in a three bedroom house," rant. So I think how much space/stuff kids need is another cultural issue.
Your FIL and H are American? I can't imagine our kids having separate bedrooms, this is Switzerland and apartments aren't cheap.
biscotto - Yes, my FIL and H are American and we live within commuting distance of NYC so it's not cheap here either, but I can't admit to knowing the going rate in Switzerland . I hear about people moving out of smaller homes all of the time to have larger families, which I could understand if you can afford it. But we live in a decent sized house, so I think the bedroom infatuation is silly. I should note that I'm American too, but my parents were not born here so I tend to share their views on things like this.
This thread has been super interesting to read! And it explains why my German grandmother always put hats and socks on my cousins' kids when they weren't looking... I always thought it was just a silly Grandma thing!
Where I live has a huge mix of cultures. We have a lot of international workers that come during the summer for seasonal employment and often they end up staying, getting married, having kids, etc. So we have a very interesting variety of opinions on the matter. In general women up here are very into med-free births with little to no medical interference in any way (the hospital doesn't even offer inductions and epis). But I have an employee from Poland who thought that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard of! She traveled 2.5 hours to deliver at the closest hospital that offered epidurals. She was also shocked by the amount of room they give birthing mothers and thought our "birthing suites" were ridiculous. I found it interesting to meet someone who's birth culture seemed even more medically streamlined than America's.
biscotto - Yes, my FIL and H are American and we live within commuting distance of NYC so it's not cheap here either, but I can't admit to knowing the going rate in Switzerland . I hear about people moving out of smaller homes all of the time to have larger families, which I could understand if you can afford it. But we live in a decent sized house, so I think the bedroom infatuation is silly. I should note that I'm American too, but my parents were not born here so I tend to share their views on things like this.
I understand a larger home if you have a big family, but I think it's OK for two kids to share a room. If we could afford 3 bedrooms, that would be awesome, but it might not happen.
I thought of another one!! Separate bedrooms for kids. My FIL and H both said that we didn't have enough room in our house for three adults and two kids, for when we decide to have another baby.
My mother then busted out her famous, "well I lived with my mother, father, grandmother, and six siblings in a three bedroom house," rant. So I think how much space/stuff kids need is another cultural issue.
My H grew up living with 12 people in a 2 bedroom house (his family are quite close ) and he always tells me how weird it is that my brother, sister and i all had separate bedrooms, just different i guess :/
It's been really interesting to me just observing the differences between the US and Canada.
Obviously I knew our healthcare systems were different, but I had no idea to what extent. There have been times I've been jealous of the plethora of options down there, and other times I've been grateful for the coverage I have without needing to go through private insurance.
The big one for me that I feel really ignorant not knowing about before is maternity leave. Here, you have a full year at 55% of your gross income (same rate as regular employment insurance,) through the government, no questions asked. You have to have worked a certain number of hours in the previous year to qualify, but I think it's only equivalent to 3-4 months fulltime.
While similar, I have also noticed a slightly higher consumeristic inclination among my American counterparts. I actually think being on The Bump and now here for as long as I have has kinda influenced me in that way a bit. I keep showing up at baby stores asking for products that aren't even available up here, haha.
...Which brings me to my last observation: apparently Canadian safety standards for baby products are much more stringent than in the US. A lot of the products I've looked into after reading other posters' rave reviews aren't available here because they don't meet the standards. I thought that was kinda strange. And now I'm worried because I stupidly bought my car seat (and stroller) online from the states for a good deal and have since been told that the seat might not pass inspection... Great.
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