culture: child rearing

In my homestay, my host mom takes care of her grandson every morning through late afternoon. I have been able to observe how they care for children here, and how it differs from that in the United States.

My mom at home is a parent educator, which means she works with babies and their parents up until age three. She knows all about development, milestones and what is best to help the baby grow properly, emotionally mentally and physically. Personally, I think that our way of rearing children in the United States is very effective with little flaws. Something we emphasize at an early age is independence, and I think that this is very important.

Something I have noticed here is that people treat babies differently than in the United States. For example, at home, many parents praise their babies with tickles, big smiles, and saying how "good" the baby is. Here, i hear so much "eres malo! eres malo, sabes?" (you're bad! you're so bad, you know that?) I'm not sure if they mean it in a serious way, because the grandma also talks to the adults about what a good baby Paco is (he is very good). Nevertheless, the thing to say to a baby is "eres malo". 

Another thing I have noticed is the lack of stress on independence for babies to allow them to grow. Baby paco is 6 months old, yet I have never seen them allow him to sit on the floor. I have learned from my mom that babies need to explore and grow by learning to roll from front to back, sit up, and then crawl, and pull themselves up on an object, and finally take steps. However, this baby is either being held by my "madre", or in a stroller. He never gets to have that experience of being left to defend for himself. I can tell, also, that he is dying to move! he kicks all the time and squirms like crazy when his grandma holds him. It kills me to watch him want to move so badly and be trapped.

Similar to the United States, there are many baby songs. There are three that I have memorized, all having a similar tune. Palma Ponitas, Cinco lobitos and Pobrecito. 

The other thing that really bothers me about how my "madre" rears this baby is her way of feeding him. I don't know if this is cultural or just her, but she is not satisfied unless he finishes a bottle. This means that even if he is refusing the bottle, choking and crying, she will still keep it in his mouth. I know from experience that it is important to give a baby a breath during feeding. But she never lets him breathe, and I have never seen her burp him. I feel like its borderline child abuse, but I know that she is a grandmother and has raised three children, so she must know something. I just feel bad for baby Paco sometimes.