another saloon munchkin

[Ruth]

This little honey is the daughter of our own YiJin, a good friend in real life as well as a fellow saloonie. I've had these pictures for months and finally remembered to ask him for permission to post them.

Little Miss Yijin came to visit Santa.


After Santa 'left', she followed me into the bedroom - and Santa was busted. He'd left his clothes on the bed. So we had a lot of fun playing dress-up.


Too cute to describe!

[Steiner]

Very cute indeed. She looks good in a beard. Most women don't.

[acjade]

A real little sweetie, Ruth. Beautiful.

[gengrant]

absolutely lovely...I am so amazed at the the innocence of youth...wish I could bottle it up...I'd be rich

[George61]

Chinese kids are like puppies or kittens...cute till they grow up!!

[Ruth]

Does Babe know you said that?

[George61]

Of course not! Wo bu ben!!

[Loops]

Children are cute, if they aren't yours!! ;D ;D

And this child is a cutie!!

[Ruth]

Her Daddy thinks so too! You should hear her speak English - but she has to be in the mood for it. Plays shy sometimes

[acjade]

One of the things I love about China is all the babies and little folk. At home, I always smiled at babies and tots in their pushers and had many happy conversations with complete strangers about the gorgeousness of their little Buddhas. No matter how old I get my love for all children only increases.

The experience of a mother is both a humbling and an educational one.

It thrills me to see other saloonies with a love of family and children when I have outgrown been abandonded acknowledged the independence of my own precious ones. It helps realise that I will always be a mother. My own are grown but the love continues.

[Lotus Eater]

What I find most fascinating is the old people looking after the babies. So many of my students tell me that they were brought up by their grandparents and not their parents. I have friends who are working so they send their children off to their parents to be looked after. They see them maybe during holidays.

There seems to be an interesting divide in Chinese society. Poorer people spend way more time with their children - they seem to take them to work with them, carry them around on bicycles, tractors etc etc and in general seem to have a greater influence on their childrens lives. Middle class and wealthier people seem to see much less of their children because of their 'office' type work commitments - frequently much longer days as well - and therefore have less influence on them. They seem to be happier to send the children off to have grandparents raise them.

There are also 'boarding kindergartens' where children as young as 3 and 4 years old spend all week living and only go home of weekends. Children often leave home, especially if they live in villages, to go to middle school, then university.

[Ruth]

The boarding school thing is just too sad. Especially at the kindie age, but even at the high school age. About half our students board at the school. Trips home to the countryside each night just aren't convenient. Some live less than 10 kms away, but time and money is prohibitive.

I love the grandparents caring for children part of China. We've lost that for the most part in Canada and the US. Grandmas are still working when grandchildren are born, so they don't have the time, or they live in a totally different city (or state or province). There is a tiny little girl in our neighbourhood. I call her 'Little Bit' because she's a little bit of nothing. Her grandma has her out and about often these days now that spring has finally arrived. She waves by opening and closing her little hand and sometimes says 'hello'. I always get a huge smile, although lately she's been playing shy.

[Newbs]

copy on what you said there Ruth, re both boarding and grandparents in North America. Same goes in Hoganland, so it intrigues me when I see a young, say Vietnamese person, taking their grandparent around, and minding them on the tram etc. These young Vietnamese are late teens, early 20s, but they don't think it "uncool" to look after the oldies in public. Kinda touching.

[Ruth]

Yeah. I hate we (the west, that is) have lost that. I'm worried for China as it 'modernizes'. Hope they don't lose the family concept as they do it.