Picture this:
You are sitting in a semi-full metro car minding your own business when you notice that something has pissed off a child. There´s a very young couple sitting nearby with a very young toddler and he isn´t happy.
That not happy attitude quickly turns into screaming. We are talking full on break down mode as only toddlers can do it. The father is pissed and the mother is frantic.
That was my metro ride home today. I was just sitting there, waiting for the complaints to start. You know the ones. "You need to get your child under control!" or "I can´t believe they allow children on the metro!"or "You really need to be better prepared."
That´s when I remembered that I live in Brazil.
You know how people reacted? They smiled and not the I-feel-so-sorry-for-you smile or the your-kid-is-a-nightmare-but-I`m-not-saying-it-out-loud smile. No, they smiled the, oh-that´s-what-kids-do smile.
It´s amazing! The acceptance of kids down here is like something I´ve never seen before. It has seriously ruined me for living back home until my kids are at least pre-teens.
I mean, I´ve actually seen petitions for non-children flights in the US! Could you imagine a Brazilian airline company, or the people here, asking for that? I couldn´t. Hell, you fly with Brazilians and the flight attendants are practically taking your kids up to sit on the pilot´s lap and fly for a little while.
It´s a tribe mentality that we American´s don´t have. You look out for one another, at least in the basic sense. I swear, the old ladies wanting to put socks on your kids when it´s 90 + degrees aren´t just doing it to annoy you, they actually think they are helping. Go figure.
Anyway, I just love this semi-non-judgmental aspect of Rio de Janeiro. The it´s normal for your kid to be a bit of a tyrant but heaven forbid they don´t wear socks kind of semi-non-judgmental. It´s a little off but I wouldn´t expect anything less or want anything more.
Ok, so I'm not the only person to notice this. I too have been amazed by all the smiling faces in the presence of screaming babies.
ReplyDeleteI was 16 when my youngest sister was born (back in the US), and I basically refused to go anywhere with her because of all the horrible (and for a teenager humiliating) dirty looks we'd get.
But they freakin' love kids here. We don't have kids yet but I'm convinced between the babas and the tolerance of fit pitching, Brazil is the country to have babies.