A Safety Quiz

Quick, grab you pencils! Mark an `X` next to the following statements that seem to describe dangerous, risky, or generally discouraged child-rearing behaviors.

__ A field trip for ninety third graders to a park that lies merely ten fence-less meters from the Pan American Highway where aforementioned third graders will run wild whilst four chaperones look on.

__ Thirteen third graders and one skeptical English teacher crammed into a single cab while returning to school after the field trip.

__ A two-year-old sleeping, sprawled out, on the floor of a crowded city bus that is jam-packed with 6 PM commuters while the mother angrily implores that the passengers take note of the child and refrain from "squishing her."

__ Children cuddling with mangy street dogs and vicious roof cats.

__ A three-year-old playing with cats while sitting on the metal roof of her house.

__ Small children riding in the front seat of cars and buses with nary a car seat in sight.

__ Hyperactive kids running underfoot at the market, around whom Saturday-morning shoppers must maneuver while simultaneously avoiding suspicious liquids on the floor of the meat section and dodging harried vendors pushing heavy carts piled high with products.

__ A six-year-old crossing town on two city buses each afternoon by herself to get home after school.

__Three to four members of a family perched on one bicycle or motorcycle with a baby strapped to the mother´s back under a colorful aguayo (woven cloth).

__ Malcriado students brandishing scissors at one another or, occasionally, pulling out an X-Acto knife that the curious niño swiped from unknowing parents.

__ Playing real-life Frogger with a three- or four-year-old in tow across Tacna´s unpredictable streets.

__ Jungle gyms that consist of teetering tables, rickety chairs, unstable boxes, and any other delicate items and that may or may not be next to a road, a stove, or sharp objects.

Bonus Question! Please approximate the number of children who were harmed in the above situations.

Results: If you have marked an `X` for nearly all of the above statements and approximated that there were at least 12 injured children, you must be an American. If you chuckled to yourself while reading the above list and incredulously replied, "Of course zero children were harmed!” you must be Peruvian. Congratulations, Peruvians, you´re right! No children were harmed in any of the aforementioned situations.

Americans, wipe the look of horror off your face, put down your Neosporin, and stop searching for the phone number of the Peruvian Child Protection Services. Without making a deliberate effort not to be judgmental, it´s easy to go through life assuming that your cultural practices are superior, more advanced, or more logical than others´ cultural practices. But you need to check your pride and ego at the immigration counter in order to enter a new country with an open mind and an open heart. You have to learn that just because it´s unfamiliar or contrary to your expectations, doesn´t mean it´s strange or wrong (because, quite often, it can be very, very right. Or delicious, but that adjective is usually reserved for those experiences involving food, not children).

It´s no secret that American child-rearing practices usually fall in the "hyper-protection and obsessed-prevention" sphere. Every inch of a house is baby-proofed, bubble-wrapped, and locked. Before a child comes within five feet of something even remotely dangerous the parents swoop in to prevent any bumps or scrapes from befalling their precious offspring. And there´s no talking to strangers, playing near roads, looking at sharp objects, running, jumping, climbing, or even thinking about running, jumping, or climbing, and definitely no sharing taxis with fourteen other people. 

I´m exaggerating a little; I know that not every American parent acts like this but, in general, our American culture points us towards being overly cautious and protective and anxiously fearing what might happen if we fail. Before you argue that this is a necessary attitude to have in order to keep our children safe, healthy, and happy, take a step back and look at our cautious, protective culture as a whole. We do everything in our power to prevent pain, discomfort, and death. The naturalness of suffering and death are labeled as something to be feared, avoided with drugs and machines. But before I wander too far into this divisive topic, one that I´ve just started to buy into, I´ll stop myself. If you´re interested in hearing more, however, my community mate Allie has some prosaic rants on the topic that are really quite stirring.  

But let´s backtrack a little to the niños… Peruvian kids experience a freedom unlike kids in the United States. They run and play, bump into things and scrape their knees. They touch stoves or fires or knives and, in doing so, learn not to do it again. They learn how to be safe playing in unsafe places. How to cross a road where drivers know no rules. How to play and enjoy childhood underfoot of their parents, struggling to make a living. They mature quickly, caring for younger siblings in the sometimes inhospitable environments of city living while never losing their childlike sense of wonder and curiosity. My students are adventurous, smart, and resourceful and have parents who love them, who want them to be safe, healthy, and happy. Sounds pretty familiar, right?      

And considering my tough, independent, and self-reliant Peruvian friends are the result of these "dangerous" child-rearing practices, I´m going to have to say that Peruvian parents must be doing it right.