I have to agree here. I lived in a tiny village in Laos for 4 months a few years back, and I have to say, the six year-olds were more mature, independent, and emotionally sophisticated than some 16 year-olds I knew back home.
Favorite slightly-related story: while teaching a class of 8 year-olds one day, a student in the back opened up his desk, and pulled out a machete. My heart stopped for a beat. He then proceeded to sharpen his pencil with the machete, then place it back in his desk.
Man, I miss Laos.
Anyways, the North American trend to never leave your kids unattended really seems to have stifled their independence and ability to strive on their own, and it's so evident when you travel to some developing countries.
I live in Cambodia going on about 4 years now. I almost said the exact same thing in my post, that the 6 year olds in my alley act pretty much like little adults. You see them buying things from the market, helping their parents, socializing with kids twice their age, etc. They almost never fight or cry, and if they do there's no parent rushing over to console them unless it's something serious. But, parents here are still very compassionate and work extremely hard toward giving their children a good future.
One of my favorite stories actually comes from my wife. Early on in our relationship she told me that as a kid her favorite thing to do was to pretend to be a cook. I assumed this meant that she had some toy cookware, something like the equivalent of a kid's tea party. But, as I inquired more, she explained that her play cooking involved sneaking off with her mom's knives and pans, buying a few vegetables from nearby sellers, starting a fire in one of those little firepots that are common here, and sometimes even going to the local pond to catch a fish! It's no wonder that she's a good cook now and also I think it's part of the reason she's been extremely successful professionally despite a lot of adversity.
You know one thing poor asian countries don't have? Laws, HOAs, enforcement of those laws, and child protective services. See what happens in the US when you leave your underage kids unattended in a $public_location in a well-to-do-upscale neighborhood.
> Favorite slightly-related story: while teaching a class of 8 year-olds one day, a student in the back opened up his desk, and pulled out a machete. My heart stopped for a beat. He then proceeded to sharpen his pencil with the machete, then place it back in his desk.
Haha. We did this all the time. Well, not with machetes, but what ten-year-old rural boy doesn't carry a pocket knife or a leatherman?
In high-school, the only concession to the no-weapons-on-campus policy was that if we were going hunting before or after school, you had to park in the lot across the street, so that your rifle or shotgun wasn't technically on-premises. My father remembers going to elementary school with his friends and they just locked up their 30-30s in their lockers, and would go do a quick deer drive at noon recess.
That's great and all, but is it possible that extended "childhood" is essential for being better adjusted in the western world? I wonder how many machete wielding 8 year olds grow up to be competitive in university.
To the parent poster's credit, I think there there might be something to it, the kid is busy learning, and perhaps if he/she is spending all day learning social/environmental survival skills instead of learning academics, they are going to be less equipped to handle a 15 year carer of school. than the "western" kid.
All these kids go to school too (though here it's still only 4 hours a day, which I am envious of) and from tutoring a number of them in English I can attest to the fact that the kids in my neighborhood are very 'book smart' too. It might surprise people not from here, but nowadays everybody in Phnom Penh has tablets and smart phones and they spend a lot of time on those learning. Intellectually they're more than capable enough to succeed in higher academics, but financial difficulties may limit some of them.
Favorite slightly-related story: while teaching a class of 8 year-olds one day, a student in the back opened up his desk, and pulled out a machete. My heart stopped for a beat. He then proceeded to sharpen his pencil with the machete, then place it back in his desk.
Man, I miss Laos.
Anyways, the North American trend to never leave your kids unattended really seems to have stifled their independence and ability to strive on their own, and it's so evident when you travel to some developing countries.