The Benefits of Raising Children in Thailand

I have previously discussed my concerns about raising my son in Thailand, but there are also many advantages about raising children here. In fact Thailand can be a fantastic location for raising children. We are surrounded by beautiful nature and wildlife, and only last week we had an elephant walk down our street; my son loved it.

Thailand offers many cheap or free activities for children. If you have a car there are many national parks, waterfalls, and seaside locations; all places that children will love. The availability of these will of course depend upon your location in Thailand, but every province offers tourist attractions where a pleasant family day out can be spent. The tropical climate in Thailand means that outdoor fun involving water is a welcome relief all year round. My son enjoys playing outdoors in the water almost every day; even if it is only in a paddling pool in our front garden.

Thailand has some spectacular festivals which are great fun for children. The highlight has to be the Songkran festival in April which involves a few days of water fights; involving either throwing water or firing it with water pistols. The whole of Thailand goes temporarily insane during these Thai new year activities and it is a time for families to get together.

Where I live in Lopburi they have a monkey festival which involves providing a big banquet for the local monkey population. Other festivals include Loy Kratong where people make boats from bamboo and candles and set them free on rivers at night; a really beautiful sight that children will love. The rocket festival in Northeast Thailand is where people from all over Thailand make and set off rockets.

Family seems to be of far more importance in Thailand than in the modern west. Children are brought up to believe that family comes first and grandparents are often an important part of a child's life. There is no push for children to become independent of their parents and it is perfectly acceptable to live with your parents into old age. Adults often spoil children quite a bit, but personally I don't see this as such a bad thing. Childhood seems to last longer in Thailand than it does in the west; this is more true for the middle classes than those in rural locations. Bullying does occur in Thai schools, but it seems to be of a less serious nature than in the western countries. Thai children tend to be a lot more respectful of adults and those in authority over them such as teachers.

Thailand is predominately a Buddhist country and this has had some very positive impacts on the Thai psychology. Thai people are tolerant of other religions and are less threatened by people who think differently. They tend to take things less seriously and suffer less from guilt. It is widely believed that the most important thing in life is fun, and the people of Thailand try to make most activities as fun as possible.