Wild Mixed Kids.

[happydaze]

Hi

My little Ozzie / Thai 8 month old boy is traveling along great but he is more active and seems to be quite a lot more advanced then my friends farangs babies around the same age. He is actualy a little home wrecker and there is no stopping him. He is pretty funny but he is hard work.

When speaking with a mate who lives in Khon Kaen, his 2 mixed kids are the same. He went on to say that at the local school where his children go, the teachers there often tell him that all the little mixed children are a bit wild and all the little thai children a pretty passive in comparison.

I know there would be no scientifc reason, all people are the same. Maybe it is nurture, but has anyone else experienced this with there mixed children or any farang teachers in Thailand who see this at the schools.

This is just a topic for a light hearted chat...

[canuckamuck]

Kids are all very different, and so are parents. At eight months some children seem to be miles ahead, but the others have lots of time to catch up.

Although I have noticed that many Thai parents do everything for their kids and that could have a negative effect on learning. If the baby never touches the ground it will not have the same skill set as a child who is allowed to explore.

[craigt3365]

Let's move this over to the Family forum.

[Ulysses G.]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

[Richard4849]

I think that growing up in a multicultural, bilingual environment might give kids a bit more self-confidence among their more vanilla peers. They've likely been more places, seen more things, and had more experiences than the others.

On a tangent, with all the talk here of Thais being xenophobic at their core, I'm wondering if luk khreung kids get teased at school for being half-breeds, half-barbarian, what have you. Or is it a non-issue?

Despite us having a mixed race President, there are lots of places in America where mixed race kids might still have a hard time.

Can any parents comment?

[Latindancer]

I'm not sure if it can be scientifically validated, but I think the Western gene pool makes them more active/aggressive. There was an informal study done years ago by some doctors in a hospital. They went around and ( briefly ) put their hands over the mouths of Western babies to stop them breathing. These kids fussed and cried.

The Asian babies they did it to simply breathed through their noses and did not fuss.

[wolfmanjack]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

[wolfmanjack]

I think that growing up in a multicultural, bilingual environment might give kids a bit more self-confidence among their more vanilla peers. They've likely been more places, seen more things, and had more experiences than the others.

On a tangent, with all the talk here of Thais being xenophobic at their core, I'm wondering if luk khreung kids get teased at school for being half-breeds, half-barbarian, what have you. Or is it a non-issue?

Despite us having a mixed race President, there are lots of places in America where mixed race kids might still have a hard time.

Can any parents comment?

My kids go to a thai public school and the other kids used to call them falang but that was about it. I just told my kids to ask the other kids if they were too stupid to tell that they were luk kueng not falang and the name calling stopped shortly after.

[Nawtier]

It's called hybrid vigour.

[Kilgore Trout]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

[Nawtier]

^...you should get out of beach road a little more.

[WarpSpeed]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

[IanForbes]

Kids are all different, but they are also a product of their environment. Children naturally pick up the genes from their parents and each child is born with individual traits. But, from there on it's just the raising of them that developes or curbs their behaviour. Unless you have a LOT of familiarity with many children you can only go by what your own are doing, and it's hard to make generalities. My ex and I ran a day care for young children and there were all sorts of personalities to deal with. I highly doubt if the personality of a child stems from its ethnic background. If children are never tended to when they cry then they learn not to cry. That doesn't mean they aren't sad. It just means that they are neglected. If children eat too many sweets they tend to get hyper-active. If they don't get enough sleep they tend to be fretful and whiny. A mother who drinks alcohol or takes drugs during pregnancy can have a fetal alcoholic baby that often has attention problems.

[wolfmanjack]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

Glad you added the not every one of course at the end. I do see the problem with the father working away from home and the mother letting the kids do what they want. An absentee parent is a problem in western countries also. Not just Thailand.

I am around the kids more than the mother is and my kids are fairly well behaved due to my discipline and influence. They do tend to fight and argue among themselves and i attribute that to my wife's inability to talk to the kids and me in a normal tone of voice. Not to mention the double standard she has when it comes to who is doing what wrong. Just this last weekend she said she tries to teach the kids and i asked her what is she trying to teach them ? How to yell and scream at everyone? Plus i told her she is teaching by example no matter what she says to them. If she throws her clothes on the floor then she should not yell at the kids for doing the same.

The mixed kids learn their english by being around their english speaking parent. I agree there are a lot of mixed kids here that can not speak english. Mine speak like an american because they spend most of their non school time with me.

[Kilgore Trout]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

[WarpSpeed]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

Cheers though I'd like to add that I don't like the term "wild" in the OP I feel it should be properly termed as energetic..

[soundman]

I have removed a couple of posts.

Don't make it personal guys.

[Carry]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

Woah nice generalisation...Im raising my kid in Thailand my husband is Thai and we're both educated, I dont think it has so much to do with intelligence as with tradition and culture!

I do agree though that some thai kids run free at all ages, so I see my neighbour running after her 3 year old, trying to make him eat, he screams and kicks at his mom when she tries to make him come in and wont listen EVER...there's another girl in the village age about 3 who bites...she bites other children, dogs [that didnt go well since she got bitten in the face back by a dog] and when she bit my child with her mom standing next to it her mom just smiled, <deleted>?!?!

Our baby is 8 months now and has been travelling around to visit family and on holiday, not to mention for a visit to europe, she is coping well, adores other children and was really fast with crawling and sitting up, mainly because she is on the floor a lot, as someone mentioned some thai kids are carried around for the first few years and hardly touch the ground...

I refuse to let her sleep in our bed , she sleeps in her own bed and goes to bed [almost] every night at the same time, also she doesnt get any milk anymore once in bed [she sleeps through the night since 3 months old, generally normal where Im from] this is magic for some of the thai parents....I also noticed that the thai kids mainly eat rice and eggs and milk.

Hardly fruit or veggies, such a shame really.

Not easy being the only western mom around, especially when visiting the thai family, the stuff her with sugar....trying to find a way to not offend them and keep my child from being high on a sugar rush 24/7!

Edited June 9, 2011 by Carry

[happydaze]

Kids are all very different, and so are parents. At eight months some children seem to be miles ahead, but the others have lots of time to catch up.

Although I have noticed that many Thai parents do everything for their kids and that could have a negative effect on learning. If the baby never touches the ground it will not have the same skill set as a child who is allowed to explore.

Yes, when I think about it my wife does way to much for our child and when my mother takes care of him he is not doted on like when my wife does, I am kind of in the middle. My always complains that she has to look after him 4 days a week. She said in thailand her family would all share the responsibility. So his feet would never touch the ground. On mum and dads farm he does everything from playing with the dogs to riding in the farm truck when the feed the animals.

Thanks..

[happydaze]

I think that growing up in a multicultural, bilingual environment might give kids a bit more self-confidence among their more vanilla peers. They've likely been more places, seen more things, and had more experiences than the others.

On a tangent, with all the talk here of Thais being xenophobic at their core, I'm wondering if luk khreung kids get teased at school for being half-breeds, half-barbarian, what have you. Or is it a non-issue?

Despite us having a mixed race President, there are lots of places in America where mixed race kids might still have a hard time.

Can any parents comment?

Yes mixed kids seem very confident, but I don't know why.

I can only speak for Australia but mixed kids at least in the cities and larger towns don't seem to have a hard time at all. The last 2 decades have seen a huge jump in multicultralism and there for a huge increase in mixed children. But we are a small and young counrty. If you had of told my mum she would be a granma to a mixed baby 30 years ago you would have heard some fowl langauge but now times have changed for the better.

Thanks

[happydaze]

I'm not sure if it can be scientifically validated, but I think the Western gene pool makes them more active/aggressive. There was an informal study done years ago by some doctors in a hospital. They went around and ( briefly ) put their hands over the mouths of Western babies to stop them breathing. These kids fussed and cried.

The Asian babies they did it to simply breathed through their noses and did not fuss.

Thats pretty amazing any idea where I could read more about that?

[happydaze]

My kids go to a thai public school and the other kids used to call them falang but that was about it. I just told my kids to ask the other kids if they were too stupid to tell that they were luk kueng not falang and the name calling stopped shortly after.

The same with my mates kids, his little girl seems to have the edge over even the boys around her age..

[happydaze]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Interesting, Thanks.

[happydaze]

Kids are all different, but they are also a product of their environment. Children naturally pick up the genes from their parents and each child is born with individual traits. But, from there on it's just the raising of them that developes or curbs their behaviour. Unless you have a LOT of familiarity with many children you can only go by what your own are doing, and it's hard to make generalities. My ex and I ran a day care for young children and there were all sorts of personalities to deal with. I highly doubt if the personality of a child stems from its ethnic background. If children are never tended to when they cry then they learn not to cry. That doesn't mean they aren't sad. It just means that they are neglected. If children eat too many sweets they tend to get hyper-active. If they don't get enough sleep they tend to be fretful and whiny. A mother who drinks alcohol or takes drugs during pregnancy can have a fetal alcoholic baby that often has attention problems.

Hi, You ran a day care in thailand or canada?

[happydaze]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

Glad you added the not every one of course at the end. I do see the problem with the father working away from home and the mother letting the kids do what they want. An absentee parent is a problem in western countries also. Not just Thailand.

I am around the kids more than the mother is and my kids are fairly well behaved due to my discipline and influence. They do tend to fight and argue among themselves and i attribute that to my wife's inability to talk to the kids and me in a normal tone of voice. Not to mention the double standard she has when it comes to who is doing what wrong. Just this last weekend she said she tries to teach the kids and i asked her what is she trying to teach them ? How to yell and scream at everyone? Plus i told her she is teaching by example no matter what she says to them. If she throws her clothes on the floor then she should not yell at the kids for doing the same.

The mixed kids learn their english by being around their english speaking parent. I agree there are a lot of mixed kids here that can not speak english. Mine speak like an american because they spend most of their non school time with me.

I had a great laugh at the way you discribed your wife, rang home so well... Thanks

[happydaze]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

Cheers though I'd like to add that I don't like the term "wild" in the OP I feel it should be properly termed as energetic..

I suppose its where your from "wild" is a loose term for energetic or over active. If I had of used the word feral I might had got a bit of a responce and even that word is used around Victoria to dicribe a lot kids and parents.

[happydaze]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

Cheers though I'd like to add that I don't like the term "wild" in the OP I feel it should be properly termed as energetic..

I suppose its where your from "wild" is a loose term for energetic or over active. If I had of used the word feral I might had got a bit of a responce and even that word is used around Victoria to dicribe a lot kids and parents.

[Kilgore Trout]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

Cheers though I'd like to add that I don't like the term "wild" in the OP I feel it should be properly termed as energetic..

Sure, and the daft ones we will call "mentally challenged"

[happydaze]

I have noticed this over many years. It is not always true, but generally luk krungs are much more agressive than 100% Thai childrern.

My kids are more aggressive because my thai wife is more aggressive and can not hold her temper.

I usually try not to generalize but since that is the basis for this topic, here goes;

Many mixed (Thai/Westerner) kids have moms who are uneducated and have no idea how to raise a kid; usually just letting them do whatever with no boundaries while the dads are very rarely there (or sober) to raise their kid, and many can not even communicate with their children.

So of course the kids are wild animals and will grow up to start a dismal future, not being accepted by dad's or mom's culture.

Not everyone, of course

Woah nice generalisation...Im raising my kid in Thailand my husband is Thai and we're both educated, I dont think it has so much to do with intelligence as with tradition and culture!

I do agree though that some thai kids run free at all ages, so I see my neighbour running after her 3 year old, trying to make him eat, he screams and kicks at his mom when she tries to make him come in and wont listen EVER...there's another girl in the village age about 3 who bites...she bites other children, dogs [that didnt go well since she got bitten in the face back by a dog] and when she bit my child with her mom standing next to it her mom just smiled, <deleted>?!?!

Our baby is 8 months now and has been travelling around to visit family and on holiday, not to mention for a visit to europe, she is coping well, adores other children and was really fast with crawling and sitting up, mainly because she is on the floor a lot, as someone mentioned some thai kids are carried around for the first few years and hardly touch the ground...

I refuse to let her sleep in our bed , she sleeps in her own bed and goes to bed [almost] every night at the same time, also she doesnt get any milk anymore once in bed [she sleeps through the night since 3 months old, generally normal where Im from] this is magic for some of the thai parents....I also noticed that the thai kids mainly eat rice and eggs and milk.

Hardly fruit or veggies, such a shame really.

Not easy being the only western mom around, especially when visiting the thai family, the stuff her with sugar....trying to find a way to not offend them and keep my child from being high on a sugar rush 24/7!

I can not get my wife to stop feeding our son (8months) at night time. She will wake him from his sleep just to feed him.. Drives me nuts.

I am also starting to see that diet may play a huge part in the difference between mixed and 100% thai kids..

Thanks

[happydaze]

My observation is diet having a lot to do with it, my feeling is that the diet is much healthier for western/Thai or other Asian mixes and it provides more health and growth. My children are light years ahead on many fronts especially in growth, my 7 year old is often confused for being at least 10 or older and my 6 year old is as tall as several 10 year olds in our neighborhood and they get a good diet of healthy foods including a mix of meats, fruits and veggies and seldom only as occasional treats some ice cream, sweet milk, chips, fries, soda, etc. and never right before dinner, where as the locals are feeding them these sweets and junk foods almost daily or continually and always as a substitute for or just before their actual meal..

Sleep is another thing that is very important. I consistently see children my children's age or younger still outside hours after sun down and playing around the neighborhood when they should be in settling down and getting washed up for bed or in bed already for a good nights sleep when they have to wake up very early the next day for school or whatever..This isn't necessarily due to the necessity as much as the children running the parents in not wanting to go to bed and the order of the day is non confrontation so let the child run their own life instead of parenting.. This applies to trailing the child around to hand feed them instead of sitting them down and feeding them or them feeding themselves and not using a child seat in the car because the child protests, etc.

One of many such examples even in the local neighborhoods. I've never been on walking street in Pattaya until the other night and I saw this boy about 4 or 5 still awake there around midnight looking exhausted on the side of the road with his mother selling goods..

My neighbors are rice vendors and they load up very early about 5:00am and get back very late sometimes around 11:00 or later and their son, younger then my boys is almost always up to all hours well after our boys are asleep..

Right on target, Warpspeed, good, valid points.

Cheers though I'd like to add that I don't like the term "wild" in the OP I feel it should be properly termed as energetic..

Sure, and the daft ones we will call "mentally challenged"

We use the term feral around my home town, would that have been more appropriate