The High Chair…

A mom in a country that is not my sometimes is very hard: "What said the pediatrician? That the result is? What is written on the box? Where do I find the past to make tomato sauce?”.

I arrived in Thailand when my baby had 7 months and the first difficulty presented itself at mealtimes: I had a high chair and, throughout the island of Phuket, it seemed that there was a shop where you buy one. My husband is Thai, has five sisters and three brothers, each of them has children who in turn have had other children, some of which were of marriageable age, and others very small. In their homes there is the chair and I wondered where the children were sitting. In Italy, sitting on chair – beautiful straight! - Lanna finished his gruel in a short time. In Thai, I arranged on the ground where he was in direct contact with her legs, with squares of carpet, with the pillow and everything was – the remainder 7 months, everything in the world is interesting! It 'true that we live in a small town, but the West with its shopping centers had arrived here. Yet no one could tell me where to buy a highchair. It took me a few days and I finally understood: the chair does not exist in the head of the Thais or at least not in that of my husband's family!

The Thai family is, typically, an extended family. Parents, children, grandchildren live close together, and mom is never alone, but can count on the help of all, also nieces that 10 years playing at the mommy! I was looking for a high chair for feeding when the locals prefer to eat on the ground. The children of a few months, even when not walking, are in the ground or in their parents' lap, grandparents, uncles, grandchildren. The small family does not exist and even if the mother works, at home there are at least four people who can take care of the child. One afternoon, I typed on google "child and motor development", "Children on the ground", "The pediatrician recommends". I found a lot of information on the importance of keeping children on the ground, aspect that encourages motor development and exploration, minimum use of child seats and chairs. I read that pediatricians advise against the box, as the baby could get up on two legs when still the skeletal muscle and are not able to bear the weight, and the walker as it prevents the step of crawling, essential for exploration and motor development. "Look at you these Thais!"I said, and I started to wonder what the amenities and equipment specially created for our children instead of giving them something not taken away. For example, it is true that a child in the box is safe, the chair is straight, in the walker moves easily, but perhaps through these tools we prevent them from experiencing an inner security made of experiences, of trial and error that lead to new discoveries and help them grow.

Lanna Today is twenty-two months, and for more than a year, the chair is finished in the closet. He refuses to stay on the stroller, loves walking barefoot and often prefer to eat sitting on the ground. I, meanwhile, I understand that the difficulties I have encountered or that I'm afraid I have to do to meet with a small group of mothers that is in my head and that does nothing but give me him with statements such as: "This is not done, Children must wear shoes and eat all sitting at the table!”. Sssssssst ... I have to find a way to shut him up ...

& Nbsp;