Anyone in China?

[shanghaiedannie]

Hello to anyone who might be on the mainland...I'm new here and this is my first post. I live in Shanghai and wonder if there is anyone else at MDC living in (mainland) China or HK? I was so happy to find this site, certainly different from any tangible resource available here! Exploring parenting styles in preparation for my own baby's arrival, I've been really noticing how much "western" parenting concepts have been promoted here in China, including the less-than-healthy ones like unnecessary formula feeding and disposable diapers :tsk Has anyone else living in a "developing" (I would sure hope we're all trying to develop ourselves :) ) or non-"western" country found local groups doing anything constructive to combat this? The more I learn about it, the more it bothers me, and the more I want to do something about it. If the statistics of diapers-in-landfills in China get up to the rates we have in the US, we will literally be drowing in the poo... :gross

[ShanghaiMama]

I'm also in Shanghai...and I certainly understand your sentiments about childbirth being very Westernized here (or at least how "westernized" is perceived through media and ads). I also wish we could do something to combat this mechanized ideal of childbirth/child rearing...C-sect rates hover around 50%, most moms don't breastfeed or only bf for a few months, and formula is a norm (you are considered a wacko if you don't use it!)

There are some good locals groups here (mostly expat oriented, though). Have you been to the La Leche League meetings? What about Anke at Birthwise?

On the upside, "elimination communication" is common here so hopefully this will undermine some of the diaper ads efforts. I had never known about this until my ayi taught me how to let baby pee/poo in a basin. It's great and I'm thankful to have been able to learn from her guidance. I really hope this ancient technique is not lost in the push to "modernize"

Hope you are well and having a smooth pregnancy. Is baby to be born in Shanghai? I had my daughter at Haushan Hospital in July...wish I could report a smooth natural non-medicated delivery- but i ended up as a c-sect stat, too :irked:

Good luck :) ,

[lioralourie]

hi, ShanghaiedAnnie,

and ShanghaiMama (aka...well, I won't say but hi anyway...it's so good to see you here on MDC!)

I'm in Shanghai, as well! Like ShanghaiMama I also birthed at Huashan, my DD has just turned 1!

I agree that birth, parenting and baby rearing concepts are unconscious and Western-leaning (people here seem to want so badly to act as Westerners...but the cultural gap is still firmly in place in most ways). People here act like they never saw a sling, or a mei tai for that matter, even--The other day my real estate agent even bought us a stroller cos she "felt bad" that I "had to carry the baby" on our walks!

[celesterra]

nimen hao, ladies! i'm so glad to see a mdc community in china, even tho we're not there at the moment. dh is from sichuan, where we lived for 2 years before coming to the US in 2002. now we're counting the months until we can go back. we can't wait! we miss it so much.

i'm also an aspiring mama, tho not as close as being pregnant. if you don't mind, i'd love to keep up with you to learn about "lao-wai"s parenting in China.

~celeste aka Xiao Li

[lioralourie]

hi any of you ladies still in China? I'm looking for a buddy in Beijing, badly!

ShanghaiMama it was so good to see you, wish you could stay with us next time!

we have a dd 2.5 and ds 6 mo

love,
Liora in Beijing

[eldadeedlit]

hi all

i wanted to ask a few questions of people who live in china.... i have never been there, have lived in new york nearly my whole life. my husband wants to go live somewhere "interesting" for a year, preferably somewhere significantly cheaper than here, where we could live relatively well on not much. i have heard china is a place like this...is that true? does anybody teach there or know anybody who does? that is basically what we were interested in.

actually , my husband prefers brazil, but i'm not comfortable going there. i spent 2 months in japan several years ago, and i have a degree in east asian studies...and i'm just more comfortable with asia. how is crime, safety, medicine, etc? Is china a safe place to live? how do they feel about foreigners (we are white americans, which i know is a problem in a lot of countries....) anyway, thanks for any input. i think the major thing for my husband is that he wants to go to a place where he doesn't have to work too hard to have a decent life. here, he has to work SO hard just to keep our heads above water. cost of living here is terrible. :(

anyway, thanks again for any input. it is greatly appreciated!

[eldadeedlit]

oh, also. how easy is it to get around without speaking chinese? my husband is convinced that he cannot learn asian languages. ;)

[lioralourie]

hi Veronica

It's not easy, at all, to get around with NO chinese. You will have to learn some, at the bare minimum numbers, prices, and to communicate with taxi drivers.

There are very few set prices here, apart from some big chain dept. stores and chain supermarkets. What costs the local Chinese person 5 quai (less than one u.s. dollar) will start at perhaps 30 for the 'rich white foreigner'. So numbers & some phrases like 'don't want' are absolutely essential.

You can live for pretty cheap, if you are willing to live to Chinese standards. Imported food is extremely cost prohibitive on a local salary, so we're talking beans & rice, and vegetables only. The kitchens are depressingly small, you just can't believe the differences in basic housing standards from the U.S. but there are some good local deals to be had (2500-5000 rmb/mo in the cities, much less, perhaps 1500 rmb/mo. in smaller cities)

crime-much safer than the US. foreigner attitude: generally good. medicine--well there are good reasons there are expensive 'expat hospitals'--but as for birth it is overmedicalized everywhere.

A good place to start with all your questions and to get a feel for life here, is shanghaiexpat .com, they have a forum with all sorts of info about life in China.

If you want English speaking friends for you & kids you will almost certainlly need to be in a big city--either SH or BJ, or Guangzhou.

[Momma Aimee]

i know this thread is old

my sister-freind is getting ready to move to Shanghai in Jan 08.

Checking to see if anyone is there now.

Aimee