How do Balinese bring up their children? Does it differ from other cultures? Part II

Balinese don’t like to be separated from their children when they sleep. So you’ll find that co-sleeping is the norm in Bali. In fact children often sleep with their parents until they are eight or nine years old and you’ll see families of four or five squashed into a bed together. Children sleep when they’re tired and curfews are pretty much unheard of, unless there are school exams the next day. Balinese kids are used to staying up late watching dance or puppet show performances.

Since Balinese don’t have fixed meal times either, children are fed when they’re hungry. High chairs are uncommon and parents normally follow their kids around as they play, feeding them with handfuls of rice and veges while they’re distracted.

With such consistently fine weather, kids tend to play outside on their bikes, flying kites or playing games. It’s only really since the advent of Playstation that kids spend time playing indoors. They even have Playstation rental places when kids pay a small fee to play their favourite game.

Balinese like to give their kids responsibilities from an early age. You’ll see children as young as five looking after babies and infants, and young children are expected to be able to run errands and do basic chores around the house from the age of seven or eight. Children even have to bring brooms to school each day to help clean the grounds and the classrooms before the school-day starts – must save on cleaners’ salaries!

You may have noticed that you don’t hear Balinese kids cry very much. Quite possibly the reason is that Balinese never leave them crying. Fortunately for parents here, the ‘big family’ (keluarga besar) means that there is always a family member around the pick a child up and cuddle them when they are distressed. It also means that parents with large families never need to pay a baby sitter!

Copyright@ Kulture Kid 2007
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