I've been reading about some super fascinating parenting trends from around the world and although I am fairly certain that they will not catch on in the U.S. that doesn't stop me from wishing they would. I mean some of them seem to make parenting a whole lot easier on the parent and what parent doesn't want that?
Don't believe me, read on!
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Here are five parenting trends from around the world that will never catch on here, but I so wish they would:
1. Whistling while they pee. In Vietnam, whistling is used to help babies pee on command and get them potty trained by the time they are 9 months old. Basically the potty training starts at birth with the parent noticing signs of when the baby needs to pee. Then whenever the parent notices those signs in their child they start to whistle to help the baby associate peeing with whistling. I know it sounds weird, but think of all the money that would be saved on diapers alone if Americans started whistling while their babies pee.
2. Not letting baby have the power. Okay, so this one I could never do, but it kind of makes sense to me. The Kissii people in Kenya try not to look babies directly in the eye. Why? I'm thinking it's because if you look a baby in the eye, then they get all the power. I mean who can resist a baby's gaze? Like I said, I could never do this one because I am a sucker for babies and their eyes, but it would be easier to say no to my kids if I weren't staring into their imploring eyes.
3. Parking your kids on the street. Danish parents leave their kids in their strollers on the sidewalk while they go into stores. WHAT? That would never happen here! I live in San Francisco, California where I wouldn't even leave an empty stroller parked out on the street because someone would walk by and think, Hey, free stroller. If I left a stroller out with a kid in it, they'd be like, Free stroller with a bonus kid. How awesome is it that the Danish don't have to worry about someone taking their kid or stroller?
4. Letting kids go to sleep when they are actually sleepy. In places like Spain and Argentina, kids stay up until about 10 p.m. I might have to start doing that with mine because we start getting our kids ready for bedtime at 7:30 p.m., but they fight it up until about 10 p.m. when they are so tired, they can't help but fall asleep.
5. Make them eat like grown ups. Okay, so yes I've heard that the French don't give their children snacks and that the kids have to eat whatever the adults eat. Supposedly there are people in the U.S. that do that too, but given the sales of chicken nuggets and macaroni with cheese powder packets, I'm thinking it's not the majority.
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