Thai's Attitude To Their Children's Safety.

[Koo82]

Lets play ball in the street shall we? Make you wonder if these kids parents care\understand about their safety?

Yup.. it can happens only in Thailand.... Fools

These children don't look like Thais. Many hybrid Thais are seen now.

[Richb2004v2]

The images of Thais with their children in amongst the airport squatters does nothing for their image of caring for their children.

Having said that there always seems to be some amongst all demonstrators that feel the need to include their children.

[bonobo]

I am not assuming that this indicates that Thais don't care about their children's safety as it is likely the parents didn't know the children were doing this, but at 10:30 PM, maybe the kids should ahve been at home?

I was driving towards Taksin Bridge on Rapprapruk Road where it is elevated last night at 10:30 PM. This road is poorly lit, but there is no access to it between the two exits--it is essentially an expressway. As I rounded a high point coming around a curve, I almost plowed into two young children on their bicycles. The little girl couldn't have been much more than five, and the boy maybe eight. They had no lights nor reflectors, and they were slowly pedaling their way along. I braked and swerved, missing them by a couple feet or so. My heart was hammering, and by the time I really got my bearings, I was significantly past them.

I guess I should have backed up and gotten behind them, hazard lights flashing, until they got to the next exit. I wish I had.

As I wrote, I rather doubt their parents knew where they were riding. But riding anywhere on tiny little bikes with no lights at 10:30 PM is rather dangerous in and of itself.

[DC1066]

The reason the kid was walking on the road is that it's probably safer than the pavement - haven't any of you seen the way people drive in Thailand

But seriously folks, I think it can look like Thai's don't love their children and I've had this debate with my Thai wife and others many times. It isn't true, its just that they have a different outlook to us.

My wife has a brother about the same age as my son and in some ways my son is far more advanced.

In other ways her brother is further ahead and these include practical things like riding a bike and climbing trees - all the things that we as westerners rush around in a panic shouting "be careful" all the time.

Bottom line is that it is just different and because of this, like many things Thai, until you understand it, it's easy to criticise.

[Tigs]

My Thai family adore our daughter. The Thais love children dearly, that is a fact. They are somewhat at the back of the queue though when it comes to calculating the risk they expose their children to.

When I arrived out here 1 year ago (to live), Grandma (who is great) wanted to get out and about with her recently arrived grandaughter. During drives in the family car I was a passenger) she would want to sit with the 4 month old on her lap in the front, and she would never wear her seat belt. I am ashamed to say I put up with this for two days, until I thought ok, enough is enough. I started a re-education program. Any one sits in the front, they wear a seatbelt. I would sit in the back and hold my daughter. If Grandma wanted to hold the little one, she must sit in the back ( during this phase a car seat was on order). It took a while of saying 'Mum fasten your seat belt', but it worked. I also bought two crash helmets. Anyone uses the motor bike they wear a helmet, further, if anyone even thinks of taking my daughter on a motorbike, I will come down on them like 5 tons of horse s**t. It works, as does pointing out the collection of scars on my wife and her sisters arms and legs from falling off/ being knocked off motor bikes at earlier ages.

I bought a Fortuner as I thought in the event of a crash, my daughter will be in a car that is unlikely to come off worst or be totalled. She has a car seat in the back now and that is her seat, nobody dare take it out. On going to the beach recently we picked up Grandma's friend. Her friend's Son (about 35!) wanted to come, I said sure. He opened the door to my daughters car seat saying OK I will sit here, leave the car seat at home!! He was a bit shocked when I said no. He either sits in the two small seats I can put up in the back (makes 7 seats) or he cannot come, that is my daughters seat and there is no negotiation. He sat in the back a little puzzled as to how the toddler can take priority in the seating arrangements! Everything is about attitude. I will not stop my kids climbing trees and having a bit of adventure as thats what I loved when I was a kid, but I am damned if I will allow my daughter ( or my wife for that fact) to be exposed the the near insane level of road traffic abuse that exists in this country, if it is in my power to try and prevent it. The whole extended Thai family know the rules now, and they comply.

The acceptance of accidents is blatant, so much so, that my wife is genuinely amazed that I have been driving in Thailand for 1 year and have not had any form of impact with another vehicle or bike etc!!! (it hasn't been for the want of moped riders trying to ram me though thats for sure). I find her amazement, amazing! The locals have no road sense. The licence tests are pitifully, laughably inadequate, and can be passed without any form of formal driving tuition, and I have found out that when driving here, there are only two rules.

Rule 1. There are no rules

Rule 2. See rule 1

If you are now living out here as a farang Dad (or Mum), insist that your Thai family conform to your safety standards. Make no exception for traffic related safety. My family now understand that the Thai attitude to kids and Traffic is not acceptable.

Edited December 18, 2008 by Tigs

[skiman1]

Just think of the state of the Thai gene pool now, or in a generation or two, if there weren't the number of people killed in avoidable stupid "accidents". Natural selection at work.

Their gene pool is laughable - mostly dullards and retards especially in Pattaya.

[Ozaemon]

It often seems that the Thais don't give a dam_n for their children. Of course this must be untrue, but it does seem that way judging from the scenes on the streets and roads.

Just last night I can very close to ending the life of a Thai child.

I was returning home after visiting a friend. It was around 6:30pm and dark and I was about 2km outside town. As I turned a sweeping corner filter lane of a highway I was forced to move into the hard shoulder for a second. There was dim lighting on the road so I managed to spot a school boy walking in the center of this lane. Obviously I managed to avoid hitting him. I could so easily have killed him. The obvious question is why was he walking 2km outside town on a very dark road towards the traffic. Not only this, but he wasn't even looking at the traffic. Instead he was engrossed in something in a bag he was carrying. He wasn't a 'down and out' as he was dressed smartly in his school uniform with a satchel on his back. He wasn't even walking close to the verge which would be the sensible thing to do, he was right out in the middle of the lane. Knowing that this lane is used for vehicles going in both directions and some times without lights it makes my head spin that children don't know any better here in Thailand.

I know this isn't so unusual in Thailand, but the fact that I almost hit the kid got me thinking about the way Thais bring up their kids. If my parents had found me walking a highway in the dark they would have gone crazy, but here its just normal.

On my estate children play at dusk on the same road that cars speed down. I brought it up at a recent community meeting but no one seems to bothered.

I guess the alternative theory is that I didn't hit the kid and there fore his perception of danger was right and all his calculations were proved correct.

A little similar to the fact that I see a dozen very near miss accidents every time I go out but I never see any actual accidents. Maybe it's all worked out to fine margins and I just don't understand them.

"He was engrossed in something in the bag"?

Sounds like the kid was sniffing glue to me.