Babysitters in China

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Alfred Molon wrote:
In article . com,
PeterL says...

Or what if while you are out sightseeing your baby comes down with
high temperature?

We'd perhaps be away for max. half a day or so, and it's unlikely that
so much can go wrong in such a short time.


Unlikely, but what if something happens? The incident of child
kidnapping is extremely rare in the US, and yet, when it happens it
happens in the blink of an eye.

But if you want to expose your child to risks, however unlikely, go
ahead.

If this happens at home, you know who to call, you
have the number to the police, you know who your pediatrician is, you
can talk to the police, you have friends and relatives who can help you
or give you support.

My brother in law and his wife live in Beijing, so the country is not
totally foreign to us.


But you won't be in Beijing. It's like saying I'll be visiting Paris.
Can I leave my baby with a babysitter? It's OK cause my brother lives
in Rome.

In a foreign country (I am not just saying that about China), you are
unfamiliar with the law, you'll have trouble communicating wiht the
police, you don't know if the babysitter knows the first thing about
first aid, you don't have a supprt system.

Well, my wife speaks Chinese and China is not totally undeveloped
country anyway. I also guess you could talk to the babysitter first and
check her credentials. And by the way, they have babies also in China.


They have babies who live with their parents and have a support system
with relatives and friends and doctors they are familiar with.

You have none of those.

And even so babies die everyday in China from a variety of diseases.
There are incidents of baby kidnapping in China.




But of course it is important to find the right babysitter. In any case,
I'm not sure if I want to leave my baby with a babysitter in China. I
was just asking for some feedback and was curious to hear if anybody did
this before.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - 6000 photos from Asia, Africa and
Europe

PeterL wrote:
But they do have incidents of baby kidnaps, as in most other countries.

Including wherever they come from. Unless you can demonstrate that China has
a significantly higher rate than other places, I don't see that this
matters.

Or what if while you are out sightseeing your baby comes down with
high temperature? If this happens at home, you know who to call, you
have the number to the police, you know who your pediatrician is, you
can talk to the police, you have friends and relatives who can help you
or give you support.

What does this have to do with babysitters? This is about being in a
different country. Or do foreign babysitters insist that you leave your
friends and pediatricians at home?

In a foreign country (I am not just saying that about China), you are
unfamiliar with the law, you'll have trouble communicating wiht the
police, you don't know if the babysitter knows the first thing about
first aid, you don't have a supprt system.

I am not saying that any of these will happen. But leaving a baby with
a total stranger in a foreign country is, in my book, highly
irresponsible.

You make it sound as if they are going to drop their baby off with some guy
begging for change at the side of the road, and communicate through hand
gestures that they hope to collect the baby again later.

I assume they are going to try to find a professional childcare provider,
who has had to deal with high temperatures and other problems a thousand
times before.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:39:21 -0500, the renowned
(Miguel Cruz) wrote:

PeterL wrote:
Alfred Molon wrote:
PeterL says...
We'll be travelling across China for three weeks in September-October
with our daughter (16 months) and I was wondering if it would be an
option to leave her with a baby sitter for half a day or so, while we
are sightseeing. If yes, how could we find a babysitter and how much
would such a service cost ?

You've got to be kidding. You are going to leave your child with a
total stranger in a foreign country?

For a few hours with a babysitter ? Why would that be a problem ?

It's kind of difficult to explain to someone why leaving a baby with a
total stranger in a foreign country is a problem.

Please try, if possible. It's difficult for me to understand why this is a
problem. What is the significance of it being a foreign country? They do not
eat babies in China so far as I know.

miguel

Rumors to that effect appear to be greatly exaggerated (although the
part below the Zhu Yu links is interesting):

http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar.../aa080601a.htm


HOWEVER, personally, I'd hestitate to leave a daughter who is that
young alone with many of the people I know, including certain
relatives, let alone a stranger (5-star hotel employee or not). And I
don't think that any particular country has a monopoly on unsuitable
people to leave an infant with.

How does the mother feel about it?



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

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Miguel Cruz wrote:
PeterL wrote:
But they do have incidents of baby kidnaps, as in most other countries.

Including wherever they come from. Unless you can demonstrate that China has
a significantly higher rate than other places, I don't see that this
matters.


Let's see if your priorities will change when you have your own baby.


Or what if while you are out sightseeing your baby comes down with
high temperature? If this happens at home, you know who to call, you
have the number to the police, you know who your pediatrician is, you
can talk to the police, you have friends and relatives who can help you
or give you support.

What does this have to do with babysitters? This is about being in a
different country. Or do foreign babysitters insist that you leave your
friends and pediatricians at home?

In a foreign country (I am not just saying that about China), you are
unfamiliar with the law, you'll have trouble communicating wiht the
police, you don't know if the babysitter knows the first thing about
first aid, you don't have a supprt system.

I am not saying that any of these will happen. But leaving a baby with
a total stranger in a foreign country is, in my book, highly
irresponsible.

You make it sound as if they are going to drop their baby off with some guy
begging for change at the side of the road, and communicate through hand
gestures that they hope to collect the baby again later.

I assume they are going to try to find a professional childcare provider,
who has had to deal with high temperatures and other problems a thousand
times before.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

PeterL wrote:
Miguel Cruz wrote:
PeterL wrote:
But they do have incidents of baby kidnaps, as in most other countries.

Including wherever they come from. Unless you can demonstrate that China has
a significantly higher rate than other places, I don't see that this
matters.

Let's see if your priorities will change when you have your own baby.

I would be doing the child a disservice if I took leave of my ability to
think rationally. In the absence of evidence that there is increased risk of
child kidnapping in China vs at home, I don't see why that would be a factor
in a decision of whether or not to use a babysitter there to any greater
degree than it would at home.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

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Miguel Cruz wrote:
PeterL wrote:
Miguel Cruz wrote:
PeterL wrote:
But they do have incidents of baby kidnaps, as in most other countries.

Including wherever they come from. Unless you can demonstrate that China has
a significantly higher rate than other places, I don't see that this
matters.

Let's see if your priorities will change when you have your own baby.

I would be doing the child a disservice if I took leave of my ability to
think rationally. In the absence of evidence that there is increased risk of
child kidnapping in China vs at home, I don't see why that would be a factor
in a decision of whether or not to use a babysitter there to any greater
degree than it would at home.


Let's think about this rationally then. Let's leave China out of the
equation least people accuse me of China bashing. Let's just talk
about travel in general. Also admittedly the incident of child
kidnapping is very rare (although when it happens the emotional toll is
extremely high), so let's include acute infestions and injuries.

Travel puts stress on one's physiology, yes? The longer the travel
(e.g. to a foreign country) the higher the stress level. For very
young children the stress is amplified because their immune system is
not well developed. So while there are babies in all countries,
traveling babies are subject to higher likelihood of acute infections
and injuries, esp. if they are exposed to infectious agents they are
not used to seeing (e.g. in a foreign country).

Now let's think about reactions when a child is infected or injured or
kidnapped. At home, while these are traumatic events, you have an
immediate support system. Friends and relatives, doctors and
hospitals, police, church, etc. are all familiar to you. You can
communicate in your native language.

This is not so in a foreign country. You most likely can't communicate
in that language. (This is so even if you speak that language. You
are unlikely to be familiar with communicating about disease or
injuries with medical professionals or the police.) You have no
support system to speak of. Thus when something like this happens
while you are traveling with very young children, the likelihood of
similar level of service to when you are at home is non-existent.

Thinking logically, would you expose your young child to a potentially
high level of infection or injury or kidnapping if you don't have to?
I wouldn't.


miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

In article . com,
PeterL says...

This is not so in a foreign country. You most likely can't communicate
in that language. (This is so even if you speak that language. You
are unlikely to be familiar with communicating about disease or
injuries with medical professionals or the police.) You have no
support system to speak of. Thus when something like this happens
while you are traveling with very young children, the likelihood of
similar level of service to when you are at home is non-existent.

As I said my wife is Chinese, so she can very well communicate in the
local language in China.

The baby itself is outgoing and easily socialises with people, so would
probably feel more comfortable spending a half day with a friendly lady
in a relaxed environment than being dragged around with us from a
touristic sight to the next.

Also, the baby already spent three months in a developing country
(Malaysia) when she was 7 months old, so I'd guess that its immune
system is at least partially adapted to a developing country.

In any case we don't have to use a babysitter in China. I'm just
interested in getting some opinions.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - 6000 photos from Asia, Africa and
Europe

Not too long ago there was an article in a newspaper here (in Australia)
about the incidence of child kidnapping in China increasing over time
because of the restrictive birth rules in that country. The article said
that because Chinese coup[les were only allowed to have one child they were
"buying" babies from these kidnappers. Admittedly it usually concerned male
babies but some females were traded as well.

Also in ouir papers there were stories of babysitting staff in 5 star hotels
dealing indecently with little children. I can't remember whether the hotels
were here or in SE Asia.

I have no wish to sound alarmist but it is as well to know that these
stories are doing the rounds.

Gerrit - Oz

In article 430c3180$0$5436$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au, Gerrit 't Hart says...

I have no wish to sound alarmist but it is as well to know that these
stories are doing the rounds.

There are also stories that Chinese eat children.
--

Alfred Molon
------------------------------
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Gerrit 't Hart wrote:
Not too long ago there was an article in a newspaper here (in Australia)
about the incidence of child kidnapping in China increasing over time
because of the restrictive birth rules in that country. The article said
that because Chinese coup[les were only allowed to have one child they were
"buying" babies from these kidnappers. Admittedly it usually concerned male
babies but some females were traded as well.

And I'm sure that family that suddenly shows up with a white western baby
won't arouse any suspicion at all, especially not just after that family of
tourists reported their baby stolen.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan