As Songkran break approaches and I know that we will be in town most of the break, I decided to research camp options for my kids and thought I’d share what I’ve found so far.

Last Songkran my son did the Ecokids camp run by PATT Foundation and really enjoyed it (I highly recommend an April camp not only because they get to do cool stuff and become more environmentally conscious, but also because during Songkran break, there’s hardly any traffic at all so it’s easy to drop off and pick up!).

In researching our options I’ve found there are a lot more sports camps than I realized, as well as some arts and cooking camps that look promising.

Most places don’t actually run camps the week of Songkran, but offer them instead the week before and/or after Songkran.  Some groups like the popular Bangkok Dolphins don’t have April camps at all and instead only offer courses during the long international school holidays (June/July) and perhaps October and February school breaks. Others (e.g. Poteri Clay and Funarium) schedule camps during Thai school holidays which coincide with international school breaks in April and October.

If you want to plan ahead for future you can check out our Directory (just search for “Camps” under “Activities by Type”).

Below, I’ve listed the camps I know of that are running in during the April break.   I don’t have personal experience with all of those listed, so it would be great to hear from those who have experience with any camps that they would (or wouldn’t) recommend.  I’m sure this is not an exhaustive list either, so please let us know of other options we should add to the directory as well.

Camps with a Difference

Ecokids Camp by PATT (Plant a Tree Today). Kids experience various environmental activities including tree planting and recycling tours. There is a day camp option for 3 or 5-day periods during school holidays and also an overnight option during select weekends. Activities include guided nature walks by ‘real’ ecologists, tree planting, wildlife spotting, recycling activities, and a visit to the Science Museum. Ages 5-11 years. For contact details, see the full EcoKids Camp listing or flyer.

Crafts & Cooking

Attic Studios. Attic Studios offers holiday children’s camps for kids age 5-18. Students work in a variety of media, including charcoal, acrylic, pastel & oil. Four-day workshops (3 hours per day) being offered the weeks before and after Songkran. For contact details, see the full Attic Studios listing.

A Little Something. Week-long cooking camps during school holidays (both half-day and full-day options available. For contact details, see the full A Little Something listing.

IPC Clubhouse. IPC Clubhouse offers half or full day camps with a variety of fun arts & crafts as well as sports. Open to all children, discounts available for IPC Clubhouse members. Ages 18 months – 7 years old. For contact details, see the full IPC Clubhouse listing or this IPC Camps flyer.

Poteri Clay Workshops. Workshops offer skills in building clay pots by hand or throwing pots on a potters wheel. For full contact details, see the Poteri Clay Workshop listing.

Camp I Can Cook. Each camp is structured around a themed menu, with hands-on cooking activities, crafting, tasting and educational element. Camps are 3, 4 or 5 days, with sessions lasting 3 hours per day. Themes include Thai, Italian, Desserts Around the World and more. Ages 5 and up. 5 weekly camps running from March 30 – May 6. For contact details, see the Young Chef’s Academy listing.

Sports & Fitness

Brazilian Soccer School. This soccer camp focuses on soccer skills such as passing, moves to beat players, juggling, turning, core skills, team work, tactics and lots of small sided friendly games as well as our daily competitive 3-a-side World Cup and Futebol De Salão matches. Children are put into appropriate groups depending on their experience and ability. All players will have fun, improve their soccer skills and leave with a new found love of football. Five day camp with lunch and snacks provided. It is held on a superb covered Astroturf pitch. Ages: 5-12 years. For contact details, see the full Brazilian Soccer Schools listing.

Can U Kick It Multi-Sports Camp. Activities in this sports camp include soccer, basketball, swimming, tennis, indoor hockey, badminton, table-tennis, trampolining, gymnastics and other fun games and arts and crafts, conducted by professional teaching staff and coaches. There is one field trip off-site (for example to Dream World or Dusit Zoo). Ages 4-15 years. Held at different international schools in the central Sukhumvit Area (i.e. NIST or Bangkok Prep). For contact details, see the full Can U Kick It listing.

Let’s Asia Sports Camp. Each day is divided into 3 main activities – swimming, sports and arts & crafts. The camps are fun-focused, with special days like ‘Crazy Hair Day’ or ‘Super Hero’ day, and Fun Fairs on Friday afternoons. Camps are run in English by qualified Let’s Asia staff and teachers working at international schools in Bangkok. For ages from 2.5 – 13 years old (camps separated by age group). For contact details, see the fullLet’s Asia listing.

Opti Course Sailing Camp for Kids. Held at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, this sailing course is designed for new children sailors, so previous experience is not necessary. course is meant for new children sailors, so participants do not need to have any sailing experience. During the course the children will learn basics about sailing, such as safety on the water, how to rig the boat, terminology on boat parts, basic knots, capsizing, steering, wind direction, current, how to set thesail to the wind direction, tacking, jibing and how to stop the boat. At the end of the course all children should be confident enough to sail a course on the water and return to the beach safely. Children who pass written and practical examinations at the end will be awarded a Certificate of Completion. The next camp will be April 11 to 15, 2011 starting at 9.30 am and finishing at 16:30 pm. Basic lodging available on club premises. For contact details see the full Royal Varuna Yacht Club listing.

Tennis Camp @ Le Smash Club . Half and full day tennis camps with 3 hours of tennis and physical training in the morning, a lunch break and additional 90 minutes of tennis and 1 hour of recreational activities and games in the afternoon. All ages welcome, but most participants are from 7 – 13. Camps held on the week before and following Songkran. For contact details, see the full Le Smash Club listing.

Topflight Basketball Academy. Emphasis is on teaching and developing basic fundamentals of basketball. Dribbling ball, handling and passing. We will incorporate fun games throughout the training to keep the children motivated and engaged – younger children will focus more on building skills in a fun, non competitive situation. Older children (9-12) are introduced to game concepts, especially defense, foot work, proper body posting and game situations with more of an emphasis on the competitive aspects of the game. In the 12-16 age group, students will learn about the more advanced and technical aspects of the game. For contact details, see the full Topflight Basketball Academy listing.

Our most recent family adventure was an overnight at Pa Ngam Mountain Lodge in Prachinburi.  My friend Mio had told me about this years ago, but I didn’t want to go while my daughter was still too small to participate in the many activities on offer. The adventure attractions are really best for those aged three and up – even then younger kids won’t be able to try everything.  Still, Pa Ngam is in a lovely mountain setting with gardens and fresh air that everyone can enjoy, even if some in your group opt out of all the adventures.

This is not a luxury hotel. If that’s what you’re used to, you may want to stay somewhere else in Khao Yai and just visit for the day.  Pa Ngam Mountain Lodge is a 3-star activity hotel offering basic comfortable accommodation ranging from tents to dorm rooms, cabins or larger suites at a reasonable price.  Located on the top of a mountain, the bungalows have panoramic views of the forests of Kao Yai and Tap Lan.  In the rainy season, there is apparently a lovely “sea of mist” over the mountains.

Because I went with some friends, one of whom was pregnant, we opted not to camp.  The rooms were simple and comfortable with air con and hot water (but no TV or videos which we all decided was a good thing for our kids for one night).  We enjoyed dinner in the restaurant, which has a lovely view of the mountains and karaoke when the sun goes down (my friend’s 2-year old was quite the hit dancing on stage). I only heard about this the morning after, since my kids and I retired early and were blissfully unaware of the music from our room.   Breakfast (included in the room price) is a Thai-style buffet breakfast. I find I enjoy fried rice for breakfast, but my kids chose the toast and cereal.

The adventure options can be purchased individually or as part of a package which can include various combinations of attractions or all of them plus a BBQ dinner at the restaurant if you like.  Packages go down in price the more packages you buy so if you go in a group you’ll get even bigger discounts (the lodge draws a lot of groups there for corporate or other group team-building).

The professional staff focus on safety first and make sure everyone has proper equipment before beginning any activity. Below are some of the activities on offer (prices are if you purchase them individually, not in a package).

Flying Fox (150 THB). Basically a zip line halfway down the mountain to a tower in the valley 100 meters below.  Both my kids loved this.  Even if they let go of the handles (which they didn’t), they would still be safely attached with the harness.  The professional staff were great getting them situated (while I waited with the camera in the restaurant balcony to get photos) and others were there to meet them at the bottom and help them off.

Rock Climbing (250 THB). The 12-meter rock wall gets gradually harder as you approach the top.  The older four kids in our group did this.  Because kids are harnessed in, if they can’t get a grip and slip off, the staff holding their ropes will pull them up to the next level so they can make it all the way to the top to ring the bell. Our six and seven-year old boys were very proud of themselves when they made it to the top.

Sky Tour (500 THB per basket, which holds up to 2 adults and 1 child). Step into a metal box and be lifted about 10 meters straight into the air and then 550 meters across the valley for a spectacular view of the scenery.

Tarzan Tour (450 THB). A canopy adventure with 4 treetop bases.  This attractions is only open from 2-3pm. Since we got there later in the afternoon, we just missed our window of opportunity, which was disappointing since it was the ride I had been most looking forward to.  Young children can participate by being strapped to either a parent or staff.

Water Challenge (350 THB). Take a zip line into the river (lifejackets required) and complete a course of several floating bases.  This looks like great fun and a good way to cool off at the end of the day.  Because we went in December when the weather was cool, I was afraid the water might be too cold so we didn’t try this (though staff assured us the water temperature is comfortable year round). Next time I definitely want to do this one.

Flying Stunt Adventure (500 THB). It looks like training for a flying scene out of Peter Pan or Harry Potter.  In fact you can spend extra to dress in the robes of your favorite Quidditch team and get a photo made. When we go back I may splurge on this one for my son so he can pretend to play for Gryffindor.

In addition there is white-water rafting, a ropes course, cliff abseiling (or rappelling as we say in America), a sky coaster (sort of a giant swing in the sky) and mountain bikes are available for rent.

Planning your visit

Be sure to book ahead as the resort can fill up with groups.  Ideally, you should plan to get there around noon and then either purchase a package of activities or choose the various adventure activities you want to do.  Note that some of the courses (Tarzan Tour and Water Challenge) are only available at set times in the afternoon, while others are open throughout the day.  You can complete the whole circuit of activities in one full day (noon to noon), so just one overnight stay is sufficient.  For example, we did the sky tour and rock-climbing in the late afternoon and then bought our kids some cheap gliders in the gift shop for them to play with in the garden before dinner; then we did the flying fox after breakfast before checking out mid-morning.  Because the resort is isolated from town you’d likely be bored if you stayed longer.

Getting there

Some of the packages include transport to and from the resort. If you’re planning to get there under your own steam, it’s about a two and a half to three hour drive from Bangkok.  You could also go there from nearby Khao Yai in probably about an hour.  There is a map in Thai on the website (www.pangam.com), while another hotel website has useful English driving directions.  We stayed here the night before our visit to Jim Thompson Farm which was another hour north towards Nakhon Ratchasima.

Booking

Pa Ngam’s website (www.pangam.com) is primarily in Thai, but has good pictures to give you a sense of the place.  You can also book through several online hotel booking sites such as:  www.siamhotel.net, www.atsiam.com, or www.hotelthailand.com.

Every time I step into a taxi with my toddler, I’m wracked with indecision – is it safer to place her in the seat next to me, or strapped into the baby sling? Is a carseat of any use at all? As she gets bigger, would it be safer to put her in the front seat where there’s a seatbelt, or keep her in the back?

I’m sure I’m not alone in this. Here in Thailand, unless you have your own car, at some point you’re going have to take a taxi or vehicle with no seat belt in back. And if you come from a country with strict child car safety laws, you know you should protect your child – but what on earth can you do?

Seriously, try googling “What’s the safest way to transport a child in a car with no seat belts?” I guarantee you won’t have much success.

In a country like the US, letting your child ride in a car unsecured is pretty much considered tantamount to child abuse (just look at the publicity when Britney Spears did it). Hospitals won’t even let you take your newborn baby home without a car seat. No seat belts? This question doesn’t even occur to anyone to address.

In developing countries, most road safety advocates are channeling all of their efforts into the more basic requirement of getting helmets on motorcycle passengers. From this point of view, if you’re sitting in a 4-wheeled vehicle, you’re already much safer than almost everyone else on the road.

Hence my mission – to find practical guidelines for the safety-conscious parent. I looked online (not so fruitful), contacted road safety organizations, and talked to everyone I knew. Most of the suggestions below come from a very helpful consumer product safety/ child safety expert I spoke to in Australia.

Though I am grateful for the advice of everyone I spoke to, my mistakes are my own and I am not an expert myself, so think critically about what you read below! I do not claim with certainty that I am 100% right in all cases. My goal is to provide some useful food for thought, present the best of what I’ve found, and start up a conversation. Where I could, I have backed up assertions with evidence, but have not been able to do so in all cases. If you have more tips, suggestions or corrections, please share them in the comments.

So here we go – tips for the parental road warrior:

1) Choose your taxi wisely

I ♥ farang...but farang would love me better with seatbelts (photo: kk+/Flickr)

Avoid the speed demons. Speed is the single most important factor that affects your safety. It’s not just crashes which pose a danger – hard braking can throw an unprepared child around the car, potentially causing serious injury. Unlike adults, children don’t understand and prepare for impact.

In typical Bangkok gridlock, speed is not usually a problem (see, you didn’t realize that was something to be grateful for). However, there are those rare stretches of empty road where drivers love to speed. Now, I know that asking a Thai taxi driver to slow down is like waving a red flag at a bull. Usually, it will result in a genial laugh and even higher speeds. But when I was pregnant I stumbled onto the magic words, which I will now share with you:

Please slow down – my child is carsick and might throw up.
**Click here for Thai translation and soundbites.

Bonus points if your child can pull a sick face while you say this.

Find those pesky seatbelts. You won’t have much luck flagging them down randomly, but taxis with accessible rear seatbelts do exist (usually the big taxis or the newest generation of taxis).

In fact, most taxis do actually have rear seatbelts installed, but usually the buckle has been tucked back behind the seat. The driver can move the seat forward and get it out for you, though most won’t bother with the hassle. But you can always ask and offer an additional tip for the service. If this is beyond your Thai communication skills, look here for Thai phrases that you can print out.

2) If there is a seatbelt, use it.

Front seat with seatbelt is better than back seat without seatbelt. If your child is big enough to be buckled in securely, with or without the help of a booster, then buckle them in. Yes, it’s generally safer to put children in the back seat if you have a seatbelt available, but the most important rule is that using a seatbelt is ALWAYS better than not using one. If you see that the taxi has an airbag on the front passenger side, though, you should move the front seat as far back as you can (see note on airbags below).

If you’re with a baby, secure yourself. Do NOT put the strap over both yourself and the baby – in case of sudden braking or an accident, your weight could crush the baby against the seatbelt. If you are carrying your baby in a sling or front pack, I suppose it would be best to buckle yourself in first and fasten the sling/pack over the seatbelt. With a one-shoulder sling, this is doable. I can’t quite picture how to achieve this with a mei thai, Ergo or Baby Bjorn style carrier, however. If any Houdini out there has ideas, please share!

Many parents feel that they can hold onto their baby in case of an accident. This is a myth. The physics of the accident will make it impossible – even at a moderate speed (40 km/hr), you would need to have the strength of an Olympic weightlifter to keep hold of your baby.

If you’ve got a small child, buckle them in. Positioning the seat belt correctly is key:

• If the belt goes over their face or neck, that’s bad – fix it. The upper strap should fit over the shoulder and chest, and the lower strap should rest on the thighs, not the stomach. If you can’t position the upper strap correctly, then move it behind the child.
• Use whatever means you have to boost them (i.e. shove your bag, a folded towel, or a big book under their bums), until the seatbelt fits them properly.
• You can also consider something like the RideSafer Travel Vest, which was designed as a portable option to booster seats, and adapts seatbelts to better fit children from 3 – 9 years of age.

3) If you have a child restraint, use it.

If you don’t already know why using child car seats is a very good idea, just ponder this: in case of an accident, child car seats are estimated to reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers and small children.

If you have a child car seat, and there is a seatbelt available, buckle it in. Back seat is best, but front seat with seatbelt is better than no seatbelt at all.

‘What?!’, you ask, “What about all those warnings in the car seat instructions that say never ever ever put them in the front seat because of the airbags?!

Short answer: most Thai taxis don’t come with passenger airbags installed – if you can see that there is no airbag in front, then you don’t need to think twice, just put that car seat in.

However, this is a complicated issue – for more explanation and to find out if your taxi has an airbag or not, see our discussion of airbags below.

If you can’t buckle your infant car seat in, then you can try to wedge it in the rear footwell, behind the front seat, and adjust the front seat to secure it as best as you can. This will help protect the baby from impact in case of an accident and help prevent the car seat and baby from going flying and injuring someone else. (Note: I tried to do this in a more modern taxi, and there just wasn’t enough space. This may vary from car to car, though.)

Use a portable restraint for older children. Once your child has outgrown the infant car seat, you’re probably not going to be lugging bigger car seats around (though there are some traveling stroller/car seat combinations out there – please feel free to recommend some below). A more portable option is the RideSafer Travel Vest mentioned above (if you have a taxi with seat belts)

For more information, read our post about buying car seats in Thailand.

4) When you don’t have the seatbelt option available:

Put your child in the middle rear seat (or towards the middle of the rear seat). Actually, this is true even if you do have the seatbelt or car seat option – the middle rear seat has been shown to be the safest seat in the car for children and adults. But – as was repeatedly said to me – a working seatbelt in any position is best.

If you’re traveling with your baby in city traffic, carrying your child in a front pack/sling is always a convenient option for an urban parent on the go. I haven’t been able to determine a clear answer on whether this is a good idea or not. If an accident happens and you are traveling at a slow speeds and you are alert to your surroundings and see it coming, you might be able to put your arms out to brace yourself. Depending on the speed, you might injure your arms, but it would provide some protection for the baby. At higher speeds, however, there is the risk of crushing your baby in case of an accident. Again, the safest seat in this case is the middle one.

5) And a final word about airbags….

If you’ve read the warning labels on your car seat, you have seen that you should not seat children in front of an airbag in general, and you should especially never ever position a rear-facing infant seat in front of an airbag. The advice I was given is that the dangers and risks of airbags relate to specific circumstances that are highly unlikely to apply in Thailand.

Here’s why it’s less of a concern in Thai taxis:

First, many taxis do not have airbags installed in front of the passenger seat. You can check this by looking for an “SRS Airbag” sign. Usually these are located on the front dashboard, but can sometimes be found on the passenger door.

Second, most of the safety warnings about airbags come from the US. This is because in the US, airbags are designed to release with greater force and speed and are triggered more quickly than in other countries, such as EU countries or Australia.

BOTTOM LINE: the expert I spoke to said “on balance, I would always choose to place my child in a child restraint (front or rear facing), even if it meant using the front seat with an airbag, because a restrained child is at less risk than an unrestrained one. If you can slide the seat as far back as possible, then do so”.

His basic point was that the airbag risk had been so well publicized that parents might be influenced to try to protect their child from the (real but far smaller) risk of the airbag striking the child, at the cost of overlooking the (much larger and more common) risk of a child being injured because they were not restrained when the car had to brake suddenly. It’s not that the airbag risk doesn’t exist – it does – but it is just much less likely to occur than the risk of an unrestrained child being injured.

Parents in countries like the US, Australia or Europe never have to make the choice between putting their child’s car seat in front of an airbag, or letting them ride totally unrestrained. This is why we see the warnings about airbags in our car seats – but there’s never been a reason for the manufacturer to craft a warning to using car seats without set belts at all.

So there it is, the sum total of what I have been able to find! Again, I have to repeat my disclaimer – I’ve done my best to speak to people who know their subject, and to back it up with evidence where I could. But I am not an expert, so if you know more than I do, please speak up in the comments below.

Taxi Thai

Here are some phrases to help you out.

General note – the below sentences are written for a female speaker. If you’re a guy, then substitute (คฺรับ) khrap for (คะ) khâ at the end of each sentence.

To tame the speed demons:

Please drive more slowly / ขับช้าๆหน่อยได้ไหมคะ / kàp cháa cháa nòi dâi mái khâ

(My child) gets car sick easily / (ลูก) เมารถง่ายค่ะ / (lûuk) mao róht ngâai khâ

I’m afraid he/she might throw up. / กลัวจะอาเจียน /glua jà ajian

Note: just omit (ลูก) lûuk if you want to say that you might get sick (not the child). Useful to know if you’re travelling solo, or if your child is acting too healthy to be believable.

To ask the driver to get the seatbelts out for you:

I would like to use the seat belts in back / ขอใช้เข็มขัดนิรภัยที่เบาะหลังนะคะ / khăaw chái khĕm khàt nírápai thî bàw lăng ná khâ

Can you help us? / ช่วยหน่อยได้ไหมคะ / chûay nòi dâi mái khâ

We will tip you 10 baht for your help / จะเพิ่มเงินให้10บาทสำหรับความช่วยเหลือนะคะ / ja pûem nguen hâi sìp bàht săm ràp kwaam chûay leŭua ná khâ

(10 baht was just an example – you may want to tip more, up to you)

To request the company to sent a taxi with seatbelts:

Please send a taxi with seatbelt in back / ขอรถแท็กซี่ที่มีเข็มขัดนิรภัยที่เบาะหลังด้วยค่ะ /khăaw róht taxi thî mee khĕm khàt nírápai thî bàw lăng dûay khâ

Resources

Taxis and vans: Howataxi (02 615 7117 02 424 2222) has a good reputation and the bigger taxis usually have seatbelts. There are many limousine and minivan companies in Thailand which cater to tourists. You can book them through a hotel or travel agent, or go online.

Please share the name and contact details for any more taxis or individual drivers you have found in this forum thread.

Car seats & child restraints: Child car seats are available in major department stores – see our post on buying carseats in Thailand for more information.
Car seat rental is available through BAMBI and most car rental companies.
The RideSafer Travel Vest can be ordered and shipped to Thailand from the US

General information on child road safety

• WHO Seat Belts and Child Restraints: A Road Safety Manual
• Road safety in Thailand: WHO Fact Sheet and more detailed, though older, information from the Global Road Safety Partnership

Big thanks go to Ian Scott, Ryan Duly and everyone else who contributed advice or reviewed the article. Lana Willocks wrote the post that inspired Amy Praphanthanatorn to ask the question on our forums, which got me wondering once again about the whole thing. And finally, thanks to Catherine Wentworth for providing the Thai soundbites.

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend last night, who, like me, is living in a foreign country with her husband who is native to that country. They’re about to have their first child, and her pregnancy has already cracked open some cultural differences that perhaps were not so evident before.

I had the same experience. I’d lived in Thailand for years but having children here brought cultural understanding (and misunderstanding) to a whole new level.

Living in a different culture, every day you’re making decisions, sometimes unconsciously, that test your flexibility and underlying values. Having children forces you to become clearer about and reflective of your values, since there can often be very conflicting ideas about the “right way” to raise them.

For me, my level of tolerance of cultural differences can be broken down into three categories: Embrace, Grin and Bear It, and No Compromise.

Embrace

Love and smiles. The overall reaction of Thai people to children is something I have definitely embraced.

My kids get nothing but warmth and welcome wherever they go. Everyone’s got time to pause and smile at my kids, and many people, especially the ladies, will try to have a friendly chit-chat with my kids.

Dining out is a dream, since there is almost always a waitress or two who will entertain the kids for the entire duration of the meal. And never once have I been at the receiving end of a cold glare here, if my kids are acting up in public, like I have on my visits back to Canada.

One surprising thing has been the amount of attention my kids get from men, young and old. The surly old guy at the restaurant nearby always lights up whenever I bring my kids, and even reacted with a jolly laugh when my son kindly pointed out to him that his teeth were black (oops!).

One time, I freaked my father out on his visit here, when I allowed a teenage waiter to carry my baby son away from the café we were seated at to the ice cream shop he worked at next door.

“You’re gonna let that guy take your kid away?” Yep, I did, because the waiter was simply keen to show the cute baby off to his girl colleagues at the shop, all in full view of me.

All Granny all the time. I have also slowly come to embrace the level of involvement of the Thai grandparents in child rearing. It’s common here for grandmothers especially to raise the grandkids while mama goes off to work, and pretty much every Thai mother I know has a VERY involved grandparent or two.

Whatever I think about my mother in law personally (don’t ask!), she is wonderful and loving with the kids and they benefit greatly from her added care.

Grin and Bear It

There are other aspects of Thai culture and children that I’m not so wild about here, but I have decided to accept because I believe they are not worth making conflict over. Others may feel very differently.

Skin colour. Comments like “Oh! Your son is so white! Your daughter is rather dark! Your kids are so lucky they’re not dark like their father!” are something I simply acknowledge and move on. As the kids get older I will introduce my Canadian-infused ideas about appropriate talk about skin colour as a talking point whenever such comments occur.

They will occur often, so there’s no way to run and hide from it, nor do I wish to be a scold whenever some old biddy feels the need to point out the obvious. Sometimes if I’m feeling facetious I will say something like “Black is beautiful!” but so far it’s never gotten the reaction I hoped for.

Ghosts. A lot of Thais believe very strongly in spirits and ghosts, including my extended family. Again, something that will make a great discussion point with my kids as they grow up.

It’s a bit of a tricky one, since I like the animist belief that there are spirits in everything (the land, trees, mountains, sea, etc) and that they must be fed and cherished, but I really dislike the fact that my son can no longer sleep alone in his room because he’s been told he will be snatched away by bad ghosts.

No Compromise

Safety. My kids are not allowed to ride with Grandma or Auntie or anyone else on their motorbikes. Ever. Or not at least until they are older. Like 50 maybe, and only if I’m senile or dead at that point.

Seen way too much human roadkill here to ever bend on this point.

Same goes with car seats and seatbelts, though as I wrote years ago in a post called Boundaries it took me a bit of time before I firmly stood my ground on this one.

With road safety, I don’t care if someone’s older, or says they’re sure things will be fine, or points out that loose kids in the car is “normal” here, or mocks me for being overcautious, or thinks I’m crazy. They get a big, fat NO if they even dare think about taking my kids out for a ride unbuckled.

I am crazy. Crazy about keeping my kids intact.

But for the most part, life is easy here so long as family members keep an open mind and take time to explore and discuss cultural issues. (Or bite their tongue, when required…)

So what cultural parenting surprises have you run into here, and which category do they fall in for you?

This article was originally posted in Lana’s blog Serrated Edges – read the original post here.