This picture was taken a couple days ago in the East Market. I was walking down the street, sweating in my long underwear and coat, but the children were layered in so many clothes they could barely move. Is this normal? Yes.In today's post, we will discuss three characteristics of childrenswear in China.
1. Layers
Question: How do you know if your child is wearing enough clothes?
Answer: Don't be silly -- your child is never wearing enough clothes. The warmer, the better. Bring on the marshmallow babies!
2. Split PantsChinese-style potty training involves a convenient slit in the back of every layer of clothes. Small babies sit on their granny's laps and pee in little arcs down to the street while granny spreads their legs. Toddlers squat whenever the need arises. True, this custom means lots of bare butts and pee on the street, but think how nice it would be not to worry about diapers.
(Photo credit: Bryan Lentz)3. Shaved Heads
Most babies around here have their heads shaved until they are preschool age. I've heard various reasons, including the fact that it's easier and cleaner. If you are wondering whether this results in difficulty distinguishing boy babies from girl babies, see #2 above.
I don't care how many clothes they have on or how little hair they have -- I think little Chinese kiddos are adorable. Don't you?
Post Edit: More cute kids in the East Market this week. Thanks to my teammate Mallary for the photo!
I'm enjoying this series...what other things are there? Your intro promised a post on hot water... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many more I'll do, although there's plenty of material. Actually, almost everything that's "normal" here would not be that normal in the U.S... Like living with the in-laws, grown men wearing pink, throwing things on the table and floor while eating, staying in bed for a month after having a baby, college girls wearing teddy bear mittens, making and changing plans at the last second, and so on. Maybe I'll get to some of them, maybe not.
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