Dare to take your toddler to China?

[southside852]

i just returned from a shopping trip in shenzen yesterday and there were tons of kids, but for me personally i wouldn't take my child shopping there mainly because the smoking and poor air in Lo Wu. When I left there I had a huge headache from the 2nd hand smoke and felt like I had a thicky layer of dust and grime all over me. I didn't feel like my safety was threatened, but that the conditions were not where I would want my son to be if given a choice.

 

[Little Monster]

:yeah2

I am back from my Shenzhen trip with my toddler. It was great. My son enjoyed it very much. As mentioned yesterday, we went to the tourist spot - (中國民俗文化村 donno the name in English﹐ anyone can help?), so everything was quite alright. A lot of green, and good air with sunshine. He enjoyed riding on the single-rail train to cruise around the whole park). People were friendly. but for peace of mind, I still put on the baby harness for him, and he was very cooperative. I think it is quite a nice place to spend a day there. Don't miss the 19:30 free of charge show, it was magnificently superb!
and, I was surprised to see relatively clean toilets there. good job!
But, the food there was um.....very disappointing!

 

[MLBW]

Little Monster, That's the Chinese Cultural Village.

 

[carang]

well.... just to let you know, we were in shatin before christmas and as we entered the "snoopyworld" playground, my hubby overheard someone pointing at my son while saying, "you could get a lot of money for him in china" in chinese....that scared the crap outta him.

 

[MLBW]

Carang--that is scary. But the reality is, even people who might not say those things out loud could be thinking them. So, the best thing to do is to not assume that any stranger has you or your child's best at heart so be friendly and cautious. But, living in fear of what others might do is a crippling experience in life. I totally live by the "be wise as serpents but harmless as doves" approach. Everyone should use wisdom when it comes to their children but I refuse to let the possible intentions of others make me live in a prison of fear. Yeah, there are baby snatchers and kidnappers abundant (and my guess is that they would be hanging out in places like Snoopyworld--I mean if you want fish, you go to the ocean to fish--if you want to steal kids then you go to a place where kids are found) but not everyone is--plus, the only way those people would have been able to snatch your son if you're keeping a close eye on him would be to physically confront you--and you know how likely that is in Hong Kong, right?