Gandtee

My Thai-farang boy started talking at 2 in Thai mostly. Some Englsih words but Thai sentences.

I spent a lot of time with my son from 1 to 3 - like a full-time Mr. Mom. We started speaking Thai together. English words were just names for things.

Everything was named and explained, talking to him as though he understood. Like you would talk to a 6 year old, that's how I talked to a baby. No gibberish and no half-watered down English.

And at 3 or 3 1/2 we switched to all English and hit the books: Richard Scarry, Dr Seuss, etc. Now the boy is almost 6 and is totally bilingual; he can function as a playground translator, after more than two years of bilingual kindergarten.

The only experience I have with kids is my own child and his Thai cousins and the few neighbors in my condo. If any conclusion can be reached, anecdotal as it may be, kids who develop verbal skills are the kids whose parents spend time talking and reading to them. My son's Thai grandmother could not engage the boy in attentive listening. His mother was always too entranced by the TV or the iPhone. The cartoons compete too. Just make sure the cartoons are English. I downloaded every Disney feature for kids and spent time together watching and talking about them. Mom and granny watch Thai and Korean soaps - nothing there for kids.

PM me if you want the cartoon and video collection.

There is no reason to believe that a kid is developing slower based on some inherited trait. They all develop at their own pace to be sure, but it is up to you to maximize the pace.

My 13 year old grandson we have raised since he was a baby. He only ever watches English language TV. I've read to him since he was a toddler and still do. He reads both Thai and English but my reading to him is a perk.He is fluent in English with a broad vocabulary. I suspect a lot of it picked up from Discovery and National Geographic type programs.I would not advocate kids watching Thai TV. Mostly it appears to me, is rubbish and and not a good influence on children..

They should use trucks similar to the ones that they use for septic tank removals to suck up excess water and then drive to the reservoirs to empty. Very simple...........maybe just alittle too simple for logic here in Thailand.

Surely you jest. You sound like a good candidate for the water control dept!

Pair of vice grips, reversible screwdriver and adjustable wrench in the glove box have saved my bacon several times over the years- all for less than $15.

A reversible screwdriver? I have about thirty screwdrivers and just checked them all to see if they are reversible, every one would turn to the left or right When I took my car in to a Mitsubishi dealer for it's 10,000 k service they asked me if I wanted them to rotate the wheels around the car, I said yes, using an air gun it took all of two minutes to do this as the car was already up on the hoist, they charged me an extra 400 baht for this. The other day I took the car in at about 20,000 for a service and again they asked me if I wanted the wheels rotated, I said no, the next day I did the job myself after finding the wheel nuts could not possibly be undone by the supplied wrench, fortunately I was at home where I have a long strong bar and socket, I invited my wife to undo one and she didn't have a dogs chance, it took all my strength and weight to crack those wheel nuts. Will they never learn? On my last car I took it into a Dunlop dealer for new tyres and when finished I took out the wheel wrench and invited the tyre fitter to undo one nut, goes without saying he could not do it.

A piece of 1inch/ 18inch iron pipe is what I have and have and used it several times, and there's the wrench!!

If the beaches are now cleared of clutter perhaps the beach cleaning machines bought many years ago can be brought out of hibernation and put to good use? I wonder what happened to the people responsible for buying them

If you call anyone from around the World , A ...... Monkey it is considered racism ! whether you call it black or white ....

Totally inappropriate for anyone, let alone a Teacher ! To use such descriptions to make a point is a disgrace !!!

Not the type of Teacher I would want educating my Kids !

How many kids do you have?

I call mine monkeys all the time. It's term of endearment.

BTW, they're half Thai half Scottish monkeys , so kinda light brownish ones.

Cheeky tar tan ones? My late stepfather called me a cheeky monkey. Both white and I was 67 years old. Racism? I don't think so. I was brought up to think of monkeys as mischievous. Nothing to do with race or colour. It was the so called politically correct that put the racism connotation on it.

How about encouraging a reasonable dress code with boarding refused if not followed.

This may give persons a heads up as to what behavioural standards are expected by passengers on flights.

Travelling etiquette tips and guidelines with a personal check list printed on one side of the boarding pass could help.

Sometimes, some people just don’t know how to behave, because they have never been told

I know where you are coming from but do you not mean, never been taught? I thought behavior was something taught by parents, and in the past, adults who also have a responsibility to keep unruly kids in check. For a long time now, adults have shirked their responsibility because of the threat of violence. The result is two boneheads, fighting in a tin can, surrounded by a frightened captive audience. Scary, especially if you are travelling with children. Even though one of them refused to press charges, they should have been charged with causing an affray and then put on the next aircraft out.

Thank goodness it wasn't a bottle of Laphroaig.

When reading posts on this topic I can understand how difficult it must be to teach English to Thais. I was taught French when I was a kid and in my exams got 13.5 per cent. Well, lessons were disrupted by the bombing raids 1942. That's my excuse anyway. I was thrown out of the class as being a lost cause. Never had reason to speak French since. Unlike trying to teach Thai, at least you could recognise the alphabet! My grandson, raised by my wife and I since birth is now 13, speaks English fluently and of course writes English very well.. He has had the the benefit of my English being translated into Thai by my wife who also speaks very good English.And one advantage is that he never watches Thai TV. Always English language program's and I am sure that that has broadened his vocabulary. When he was a toddler I made up a set of flash cards and encouraged him to read phonetically It worked for him. But of course he lives with us full time so speaking Thai and English comes naturally to him. I don't envy you your job English teachers, but power to your elbows.

Taking a wife or girlfriend to Pattaya is totally irresponsible.

The crime capital of Thailand is not a suitable family holiday destination, it is geared up for sex-pats and is populated by the most undesirable elements from the underclass of International societies.

As you can see from the photo, the lady does not look amused but rather in shock and is a place better off avoided. People that decide to visit Pattaya do so at their own risk and discretion.

Totally agree with you 100 percent........ Been once and vowed never to go back.... It's the Pitts.....

Was not Robert the Bruce the man who said "If at first you don't succeed, try try again"?

Sounds good to me. Now if they reconsider the irksome 90 days reporting requirement which most people I have spoken to agree is pointless. Or if there is a point, explain it. It will make a lot of long stayers very happy.

At my grandsons school the teachers use him to translate for them. I'm not complaining as it will stand him in good stead in later years.

When will the Army sort out Pattaya? Except for the stopping of motorcycles on some pretense, law and order seems to be sadly lacking.

They forgot to mention the rate of re-offending by those convicted.

The death penalty is 100% effective at preventing re-offending.

Yes, but how many innocent people were executed?

It would seem that the anti alcohol brigade have got on the bandwagon big time.I as a Brit would like to inform them that beer drinking is part of our culture, as it is in many European countries. That does not mean that we drink to get legless, but to enjoy convivial conversation and put the world to rights?? The fact that we used to ply our sailors and soldiers with beer and later rum before they went into battle is bye the bye. A few lunch time beers at the local is what we grew up with. The PC brigade always want to ban things just because they don't like to see people enjoying themselves. Not all beer drinkers go around raping people. I cannot comment on drug takers.My heart goes out to the family of the poor girl who suffered this terrible demise. But stopping the rest of the population from having a beer is not the answer to stop it happening gain. RIP Little one.

Yes, but think of the money you will save in direct purchasing costs and future medical costs... Besides waking up in the morning bright eyed and bushy tailed in a manner you likely haven't experienced since adolescence.

I am now 80 years old. Fortunately I don't have any medical costs and buying beer prevented me from squandering my hard earned money on inconsequential things. I defy any eighty year old to wake up wide eyed and bushy tailed. Waking up is a pleasant surprise and the rest is a bonus, including a beer during the day to oil the wheels while I toil in my garden/ jungle.

It would seem that the anti alcohol brigade have got on the bandwagon big time.I as a Brit would like to inform them that beer drinking is part of our culture, as it is in many European countries. That does not mean that we drink to get legless, but to enjoy convivial conversation and put the world to rights?? The fact that we used to ply our sailors and soldiers with beer and later rum before they went into battle is bye the bye. A few lunch time beers at the local is what we grew up with. The PC brigade always want to ban things just because they don't like to see people enjoying themselves. Not all beer drinkers go around raping people. I cannot comment on drug takers.My heart goes out to the family of the poor girl who suffered this terrible demise. But stopping the rest of the population from having a beer is not the answer to stop it happening gain. RIP Little one.

Typical knee jerk reaction. It would appear that it was not the sale or consumption of alcohol which caused the terrible death of this young girl, but drugs. Now the quiet passengers who like a beer on a long journey are being targeted. I feel very sorry for the parents of this young girl. It just reminds us to be more protective of our children. R.I.P.

Thank goodness for google. I didn't know what an Uber was. I thought we were going back 70 years to 'Deutschland uber alles' or something like that. Mind you, the World Cup might bring it to fruition.

As the man said, "I only drink enough to make people I am conversing with sound interesting"!

Sh*t that's my age.anyone know what he died of ?

Want of breath. RIP

The victim got his just deserts? How many other workers had he ripped off. A bit over the top to kill him though.

It's the managers decision and not the baying public on a witch hunt!

If you take a life you should give your life. Capitol punishment can deter a killer and it will defiantly deter him from ever killing again. You spinless wimps stand back and let a real man do what needs doing. You liberals do not have enough common sense to protect your daughters, wives and mothers so let a good American conservative do a mans job.

It would seem that the threat of execution does not deter murderers. The biggest problem is if and when an innocent is executed. This I believe has happened on many occasions. Not only in USA either.

I used to cycle everyday until about five years ago doing about 30 kl. I used to get leg cramps in the night and still do if I have been out in my garden/jungle cutting grass and chopping back vegetation. I drink water while in the process, but sometimes not enough. To avoid the cramps I drink a couple of packets of electrolyte drink. This seems to work. But if I forget to do this and get cramp I hobble to the kitchen and dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in water and drink that. The cramp disappears almost immediately. I now await the avalanche of warnings about salt. By the way I am eighty and have used salt all of my life.

It's a lack of basic exercise. I hop out of bed in the morning, run to the toilet, skip breakfast, climb up the stairs and here I am, fit as a butchers' dog and well past my sell by date. I hope it lasts???

As I understand it the key medication for malaria protection is quinine but it is not cheap or easy to get. My doctor in Australia told me before I left that is I was concerned about malaria I should drink a glass of Schweppes Tonic Water every day as one of the ingredients, though in small amounts, is quinine.

Yes! Tonic Water contains quinine which is I believe a cure for malaria. That is how I explain my drinking of large gin and tonics. Well, that's my excuse anyway.