रविवार, अगस्त 23, 2015

जैसा देस वैसा भेस : In Rome do as the Romans do

जैसा देस वैसा भेस .. In Rome do as the Romans do

या फिर (A bit differently)

Cut your coat according to your cloth

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/cultural-sensibilities-matter-in-parenting/article7562231.ece

This article is published in "The Hindu" of Aug. 21, 2015. This is written by Nandita Chaudhary (NC) and Jaan Valsiner (JV). NC is associate professor of developmental psychology at University of Delhi; JV is Niels Bohr professor of psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark)

I quote the 2 incidences of 2 couples going to US (with children) from this article first:

"One afternoon, the Danish mother decides to have lunch with her partner and parks the baby in a stroller outside a restaurant on an East Village street as they enjoy a leisurely meal. For her, this is common practice in Copenhagen, arguably one of the safest cities for children. Several passers-by see what they believe is an “abandoned and crying child”, and call emergency services. The police arrive and the couple is arrested for negligence. 

In the second story, an Indian couple live with their sons in Oregon. The mother decides to give up her career to care for the two toddlers. One evening, the elder child falls down and is hurt while playfully climbing on his father’s back. He is rushed to hospital where the parents are informed about a hairline fracture of the tibia. Following treatment, the mother is interrogated about what looks like a suspicious injury, during which she innocently remarks that the father “may have accidentally dropped the child”.

The Hindu of 22nd Aug has an interesting letter to the editor  by Mr. K. D. Viswanaathan

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/culture-and-parenting/article7566749.ece

This letter tells how in USA, a grandfather is charged a fine for holding his grand child in his lap!

This is interesting that people who go abroad must be educated about the basic living styles by their embassies etc.

Prem  Aug. 23, 2015