I've made mention before about how sometimes, living here seems as though you have entered the Twilight Zone, and this point is still completely valid. On a daily basis you see and hear things that really get you to wondering, "How on Earth is this happening right now?" So, I figured I would do some enlightening about some of the "odd" and unhealthy things that go on here. I don't mean to sound as though I'm bashing any parents, but really, some of this stuff is unbelievable.
The first shocking thing that you will notice here is the driving/car situation. Now, the drivers here are crazy, and really can be very inconsiderate and dangerous to other people on the road. They do things such as stopping randomly on a busy, fast moving road, in a lane, to let some people out the car (and although Charmaine and I were able to stop in time in order to not hit the car that had stopped, the drivers behind us were not able to do that, causing us to be in a 5 car crash). The driving here is reckless (I would never want to own a nice car here, because I doubt it would last long). Now is where things get really scary. Parents here don't seem to pay much attention to car safety for their kids. They actually let their kids run loose in the car! I mean I've seen kids climbing all over the car, including the upper area where the back windshield is. If the car crashed, or came to a halting stop, these kids would go flying, and probably be seriously injured. Also, parents let their kids hang out of the car windows. During the week building up to the 1 year anniversary of protests, there were young kids with the windows down, sitting on the door of the car as their parents were driving. They were out of the car all the way to their butts, with only their legs inside the car. I have to turn my head away when I see things like this, because I get so worked up over it, and how dangerous it could be. Additionally, most parents seem to think its ok to let their kid sit on their lap while driving! And I mean small children. You will see parents with babies and 1 year old kids, with the babies on the drivers lap! I cannot say I have ever seen a car seat here. Again, this is so frightening and shocking, and although I see this every day, it still always surprises me.
So, the next topic of parenting is about the health of the kids here, particularly the nutrition. One thing I've noticed is the lunches. Some kids have a packed lunch, and some buy at school. We will start with the packed lunches. Definitely not healthy. Lunches include chips, cookies, chocolate and other candy, juice, and things of that nature. It's rare to see fruits or vegetables in a lunch. I'll walk around and look to see if kids have something healthy, and will announce it to the rest. I would say, "Oh! How nice, so and so brought a cucumber as part of her lunch", and get replies like, "Miss Jamie! I brought a sandwich! That is healthy food". I then say, "and what kid of sandwich did you bring?". And they say, "A Nutella sandwich", because of course a chocolate sandwich would be healthy. I've also had kids who bring a lunch box to school, and literally the only thing in the lunch box was a pack of Oreo's! I'm sorry, but who in their right mind considers a pack of Oreo's to be a lunch! Then, the school lunches don't help the situation. At first break, 9:05am, what are kids buying from the cafeteria? Chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, and Krispy Kreme donuts! Just what every growing 7 year old needs at 9 in the morning. The kids load up on empty calories, and rarely eat anything healthy. I was on a field trip with the school this past week, and while I was getting something to eat, there was a mom next to me with her baby in a stroller, and guess what that baby had in its hands?! Biggie fries from McDonalds! Way to give you kid a heart attack by age 5! And last, but most certainly not least, I've discovered that some of my student's parents allow them to drink Red Bull. I told my students that I would punish them if they ever came to school after drinking Red Bull, or if they brought it to school. My kids are hyper and crazy enough, the last thing I need is extra energy in the class room.
So, in conclusion, this is my rant about the parents and the unhealthy things they allow of their kids. This was one of those things I was not prepared for when I came, and never realized how disturbing it is. After seeing these kids of things, I feel like I'm having a personal calling to be a teacher of adults, teaching them how to raise children in a healthy way. If I was able to do such a thing without it looking like I was strongly criticizing people, I really would. These parents who allow such things need to be educated on the health and safety of children.
The first shocking thing that you will notice here is the driving/car situation. Now, the drivers here are crazy, and really can be very inconsiderate and dangerous to other people on the road. They do things such as stopping randomly on a busy, fast moving road, in a lane, to let some people out the car (and although Charmaine and I were able to stop in time in order to not hit the car that had stopped, the drivers behind us were not able to do that, causing us to be in a 5 car crash). The driving here is reckless (I would never want to own a nice car here, because I doubt it would last long). Now is where things get really scary. Parents here don't seem to pay much attention to car safety for their kids. They actually let their kids run loose in the car! I mean I've seen kids climbing all over the car, including the upper area where the back windshield is. If the car crashed, or came to a halting stop, these kids would go flying, and probably be seriously injured. Also, parents let their kids hang out of the car windows. During the week building up to the 1 year anniversary of protests, there were young kids with the windows down, sitting on the door of the car as their parents were driving. They were out of the car all the way to their butts, with only their legs inside the car. I have to turn my head away when I see things like this, because I get so worked up over it, and how dangerous it could be. Additionally, most parents seem to think its ok to let their kid sit on their lap while driving! And I mean small children. You will see parents with babies and 1 year old kids, with the babies on the drivers lap! I cannot say I have ever seen a car seat here. Again, this is so frightening and shocking, and although I see this every day, it still always surprises me.
So, the next topic of parenting is about the health of the kids here, particularly the nutrition. One thing I've noticed is the lunches. Some kids have a packed lunch, and some buy at school. We will start with the packed lunches. Definitely not healthy. Lunches include chips, cookies, chocolate and other candy, juice, and things of that nature. It's rare to see fruits or vegetables in a lunch. I'll walk around and look to see if kids have something healthy, and will announce it to the rest. I would say, "Oh! How nice, so and so brought a cucumber as part of her lunch", and get replies like, "Miss Jamie! I brought a sandwich! That is healthy food". I then say, "and what kid of sandwich did you bring?". And they say, "A Nutella sandwich", because of course a chocolate sandwich would be healthy. I've also had kids who bring a lunch box to school, and literally the only thing in the lunch box was a pack of Oreo's! I'm sorry, but who in their right mind considers a pack of Oreo's to be a lunch! Then, the school lunches don't help the situation. At first break, 9:05am, what are kids buying from the cafeteria? Chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, and Krispy Kreme donuts! Just what every growing 7 year old needs at 9 in the morning. The kids load up on empty calories, and rarely eat anything healthy. I was on a field trip with the school this past week, and while I was getting something to eat, there was a mom next to me with her baby in a stroller, and guess what that baby had in its hands?! Biggie fries from McDonalds! Way to give you kid a heart attack by age 5! And last, but most certainly not least, I've discovered that some of my student's parents allow them to drink Red Bull. I told my students that I would punish them if they ever came to school after drinking Red Bull, or if they brought it to school. My kids are hyper and crazy enough, the last thing I need is extra energy in the class room.
So, in conclusion, this is my rant about the parents and the unhealthy things they allow of their kids. This was one of those things I was not prepared for when I came, and never realized how disturbing it is. After seeing these kids of things, I feel like I'm having a personal calling to be a teacher of adults, teaching them how to raise children in a healthy way. If I was able to do such a thing without it looking like I was strongly criticizing people, I really would. These parents who allow such things need to be educated on the health and safety of children.
No comments:
Post a Comment