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A Canadian in Beijing: Naked Baby Bums Everywhere!
I wonder how babies in China feel in the wintertime. I mean, they must experience some severe crotch frost considering the built-in air-conditioning their clothing has! This no-nonsense approach to raising not-yet-potty-trained children has me both baffled and amused.
Here in China, children under the age of approximately 4 years old wear pants that are crotchless. In other words, their pants do not have any crotch, just an open space where the crotch should be. At a Pride Day parade, this style would be called "chaps"! Here in China, they're just regular kids' clothes.
Basically, when the child has to go to the bathroom, they are taught to squat wherever they are. This can sometimes happen on the sidewalk or on the grass, but it also happens on public transport or in shopping centres.
How does a society deal with that?
Mops. Lots of mops.
This phenomenon further stresses the fact that sitting on the grass or the sidewalk here in China is an absolutely disgusting proposition. Any number of children could have urinated or defecated there. Top that off with the spitting, the rubbish and overall dirt that is generated by 14 million people and you have yourself an extremely unsanitary seat.
The more I see this happen here in China, the less often I have found myself sitting on the ground. In fact, I'm not sure I'll ever sit on the ground again after three months in Beijing. It may have scarred me for life! (C'mon, a little drama never hurt!)
I finally got up the courage to ask about this 'crotchlessness.' The moment came when we were in class and discussing what things we found to be "qi guai" or "strange" here in China compared with our home countries. My teacher laughed out loud when we all started to comment on this phenomenon and then she covered her mouth shyly with her hand as she explained and then laughed some more. She said that she once asked a mother whether or not her children were cold in the wintertime and the mother's response had been that this section of the body is hot enough on its own and so the missing fabric is "mei wenti" (no worries).
Really? I don't buy it. I know it's hot down there, but is it hot enough to keep those bits from frostbite? I don't think so. Of course, I am a Canadian here and I have heard that Beijing winters are not as cold as Canadian winters. Hmmm. Wo bu zhi dao (I don't know). I'm shrugging my shoulders here.
(I've since found that lots has been written about this. Here's a really cute picture.)
Now, besides the so-called functionality of this clothing design, I have to admit that it's really cute. When a child is being held either on its mother's back or in her arms, the child's legs are bent around her and all you see is his or her little bottom. Everywhere I go, I get glimpses of naked baby bums and I smile every time. How can you not? So perhaps that's part of the function: kids' clothing that make the foreigners smile.
When I was on the subway heading downtown one day, a small child of about 2 was sitting on the lap of the woman across from me. He was fussing and irritable and so she took him off her lap and stood him between her legs to steady him as the train rumbled along. He continued to whine and wriggle, wanting to get out from the jail cell that had been created by her knees, but unable to breach her legs for any free space since the train was fairly crowded.
Suddenly, he bent into the squatting position and peed. His mother lifted her feet slightly so that she wouldn't step in his urine and then threw a tissue at the small puddle and let it soak up the urine before kicking the sopping tissue under the seat with the sole of her shoe.
It was my first experience watching a child pee on public transport and I was amazed. I'm sure my eyes were the size of small dinner plates because she looked right at me with a "haven't-you-seen-this-before?" expression on her face that was mixed with a sort of diffidence that made me lower my gaze. I don't want my amazement to translate into judgment and so I spent the rest of the trip looking out the window.
About a week later, I was standing on the street and I saw a small child being led to one of the small saplings that line the road. His mother opened the gap in his pants and positioned his body to urinate and then waited until he had emptied his little bladder under the city tree. I watched this with great amusement.
Later that same day, I was riding my bike back home and it was late in the evening when the twilight can trick your eyes with its dim shadows. I saw a small girl of about 5 years old step into the street a good block ahead of me as I was leisurely pedalling along. She lifted up her skirt and crouched down and I wondered if she was looking for something in the gutter. Seconds later, I watched her hop back up onto the curb and disappear into a building and when I arrived at the spot where she had been, I discovered only a damp patch of asphalt that I had to swerve to avoid.
It seems to me that even as kids grow a bit older, it's still OK for them to urinate (and what about #2?) on public streets. I wonder how common this is or if I just saw a rare moment here.
Either way, at least it saves on paper and non-biodegradable diapers. That's a huge something!
Now if we could only tackle the smell ...
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Blogs, Stories, Asia, Canada, A Canadian in Beijing
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
cady Jan 23rd 2009 10:23PM
That is so freaky.Image your walking down the road and you see a baby passing his waste.That place cannot be a healthy plce to live.
paupie Sep 4th 2009 3:40AM
MANY OF THESE COMMENTS ARE TRUELY DISTURBING!
kevinbear "This is why we need to keep the american military 3 times the size of anyone else, so we don't have to ever endure this crap over here."
THIS KIND OF THINKING IS WHAT MADE HITLER THINK MURDERING 11 MILLION PEOPLE WAS JUSTIFIABLE.
Yes, the idea of training your children to eliminate in public is a different idea--one that I would not be so thrilled about on the NYC subway for instance, it is working for them. As another poster mentioned most kids in China are potty trained by 10mos. so obviously there is something to this system of Elimination Communication. In addition it is an extremely practical idea both environmentally and economically considering the billion+ people in China. The amount of toxic disposable diaper in our american landfills is staggering.. the amount in china would be overwhelming if they were as wasteful as us.
In terms of cleanliness and smell, yes it is pretty disgusting to find this happening on public transport or indoors and not be cleaned up by the mothers. they should clean up the mess.
Outdoors I dont see the harm. Birds and dogs shit wherever. it is a natural part of life. we forget that we are part of the earth so often and all i can think is that the chinese are still viewing our bodies and existance on this planet as ultimately organic. look at their medicine practices.. which are more effective than our western ones when used in a holistic way.
ovreall it seems to me to be a natural, logical practice that meets some challenges in an urban setting. if I was chinese I would use this practice unless I lived in a city and then I would use cloth diapers if I was out shopping, on the train, in a crowded place.. but otherwise I think its actually a very interesting response to a primal issue.
as for adults relieving themselves wherever.. this is gross. designated "trenches" or "outhouses"..fine if indoor plumbing is not available (not everyone can dip into a starbucks) we have the same problem in NYC. there is nowhere to go so you either pay for a coffee or find an alley and hope a cop doesnt see you.
All I can say is people should have some discretion.
AND OTHERS SHOULD TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THEIR WORLD VIEW BECAUSE SOME OF THESE COMMENTS ARE TRUELY FRIGHTENING
Sam May 18th 2007 9:24AM
I experienced the #2 variety right before taking a bite into a crepe I bought from a vendor off the street.
If you take the Beijing Subway to the Hou Hai district (I forgot the name of the station), there's a statue depicting Chinese Children @ play . . . exposed bums and all!
cady Jan 23rd 2009 10:29PM
If i were you i would wash my mouth with bleach.By the way do u think that u would go back there?
Lou May 18th 2007 1:48PM
My mind is full of practical questions aftre reading this, but here's just one: Until the kids are actually trained, don't they make messes everywhere if they're not wearing diapers? Wouldn't they just poop on your lap, or on the back seat of the car? Wouldn't they pee in their pants, or miss the pant-gap and wet themselves, and then stink for the rest of the day?
Um, that's all for now!!
mboultbee May 18th 2007 8:17PM
LOL. Those pants are hilarious. But functional, I guess. It must be an Asian way of doing things. Saw young kids peeing in the streets in Korea as well. But no crotchless clothes. Perhaps that is a newer style.
ember.swift May 18th 2007 10:23PM
Lou,
The fact that the kids make messes everywhere is the point - the don't wear diapers and the families just expect them to squat and go wherever they are. That makes for quite a lot of messes, of course, and it's amazing to me that this just the way it is done.
I don't think they poop on your lap, though, because they're at least trained to squat and go and if one is sitting then it's really hard to squat. So, they'd probably get off your lap or stand up in the car or something. Still, maybe kids are also let their parents know when they have to go so that at least they can pull the car over? Let's hope, or else there would be a huge market for upholstery cleaner here in China!
I'm sure there's a lot of kids who wet themselves too. Maybe Chinese Moms and Dads carry a lot of extra pants around with them?! Those gaps are pretty wide, though, so it's possible that nothing ever actually gets on the clothes.
Good questions!
Denzylle May 19th 2007 9:55AM
Any parent who has been thru' potty training a toddler will know there have been moments when there's been no bathroom around and it's been necessary to hold the child over the kerb or the grass for a wee (but I've never seen a child pooping publicly in the UK).
But, that's an emergency situation only. I'm coming from the position that the Western way is better; it's certainly more hygienic, and perhaps with the world's presence in Beijing in 2008, Chinese parents might be persuaded to change their practices. It would be a start if they were made (by law) to use pooper scoopers, and if they were, I suspect parents *would* teach their children (at least those of toddler age who can tell you when they want to 'go') to use public bathrooms.
Are there many public bathrooms, or bathrooms that can be used in stores or restaurants? If not, that would be another change the Chinese might make to discourage this practice.
Denzylle (who once saw an adult taking a poop on Santa Monica Boulevard in the middle of the afternoon).
L R May 19th 2007 10:03AM
I am extremely jealous of this aspect of Chinese culture. Imagine how much easier it would be for mothers! I currently have a 31 month old and a 16 month old. With every sopping, heavy bag of wet diapers and training pants that I haul to the washing machine, I wish that this behavior was socially accepted in our culture. For every half hour I spend clipping strings of wet diapers to the clothesline, for every 2-5 minutes that I have lost to changing diapers, for every 10 minutes of interruption during a shopping trip of dragging a stinky child to the restroom to be changed, for every cheezy book about potty training that I read to my kids, I wish this practice was accepted here.
I have read a lot about EC (Elimination Communication) which is used in conjunction with the crotchless pants, and I even tried it for a while, at home anyway. But it doesn't work well in this society's culture. There are a couple of split seconds when I wished I lived in China or Viet Nam or India, and then I bounce back to reality and secure the diaper tabs.
No, the children do not just go anywhere and there are not constant accidents. I'm sure there are a few--- we even have accidents with our culture's methods, but for the most part there are none. From birth the babies are taught when and where to go through elimination communication. From birth the mother can hold the baby in a squatting position over a vessel or acceptable patch of ground or whatever and make a verbal sound to signify that it's time to go. The mother is also more in tune with her baby and will recognize when the baby needs to go. After a couple few weeks of this, the baby learns to wait for the sound before it goes. And of course, as the baby grows into a toddler, it becomes better at communicating when it needs to go. So simple. So practical. So natural. It's things like this that make the U.S. seem so wierd to the rest of the world.
Lou May 19th 2007 10:16AM
Ember, I guess what I meant was when they're too young to squat or to have been trained to squat (when they're tiny babies, or newborns), do they not wear diapers even then? (But I think maybe L R, above, just answered my question!)
Other than the urine and feces everywhere, I like this idea a lot. It's gentler than having the child sit in a soiled diaper, and it also protects the environment by avoiding the use of diapers. Cool.
I'm grateful for this blog -- it goes much beyond the usual "landmarks to see" and gives us insight into aspects of Chinese culture we may never have considered before... like these pants, or the fact that the Chinese really love their karaoke!
Thanks for letting us visit this beautiful country with you!
Dick Swift May 19th 2007 8:44PM
Ember... when I lived in Peru and spent time in the Andean villages, I was suprised (shouldn't have been, I guess) that the Quechen women, who wore many skirts one over the other, squatted almost anywhere to do their job. Not a frequent sight, but common enough. With 3,4,5 skirts under their daily skirt, one wonders at the collection of excrement underneath. They had no plumbing...no bath... etcc.... Lots to be said about the modern world.
Catherine and Ted May 27th 2007 12:27AM
Wow! This was a very interesting and debatable issue. The responses you received certainly added some intelligent insight into this delicate subject. I guess one just has to experience the diaper phase and the toilet training to recognize that there certainly can be other alternatives. Which methods are the best, becomes the moms decisions. I remember when our dog Tauny had some control over your sister's behaviour and that didn't please us too much. When he squatted, she did also. So much for having our continued success with potty policies.
Love from Woodstock
Geri Clark May 21st 2007 2:34PM
I seems like an ok idea, however, when is their age of responsibility come into play, does a 7 year old expose his/her privates to relieve theirselves? What about a person with mental defects? When does their age play a role? I have 3 boys and have lived (out in the sticks) for most their lives, it was easy for me on the farm to just let them relieve theirselves outside. One particular trip to the city, my middle son began to relieve himself on a light pole, it's a wonder I did not get a ticket for indecent exposure of a minor child. He was 5 at the time. You should have seen the glares. I had to sit him down and have a real heart to heart about appropriate places an so forth. This also would be cause for concern with child pornography and pediphiles.
Rachel May 21st 2007 2:30PM
That is just triflin! I would be more concerned about clean streets, than running out of paper. You have to step out of your house and smell urine and feces? I guess some cultures never come out of that primitive state. And then to do it on public transportation to top it off! That is just nasty!!!
matt May 21st 2007 2:35PM
I have the pleasure of having added to my family a daughter from China. While there, I noticed the pants, but made no big deal of it. That is their culture, their society and their way. In fact, most of their children are in fact very functionally toilet trained by 10-11 months of age, some sooner, and they consider a bit of an embarassment if they aren't. We judge or view this from our culture not theirs. They have existed longer and have more history than we can dream of, yet we tend to think our American/ Canadian or western way is the only way. Instead of simply realizing that there are viable alternatives, we still insist that if it isn't western, it isn't right! It is no wonder a large portion of the world views our countries as arrogant and overindulged nations. I am sure to the Chinese, disposable diapers are wasteful, and would consume an incredible amount of resources both in manufacturing and potential landfill space for disposal. Typically, I don't make it a point of sitting on public flooring, sidewalks, or streets so I don't quite follow the can't sit safely in China logic. If in the grass, a bowel movement would hopefully be easily visible, and the other unless wet shouldn't pose much health concern as it is mostly sterile in chemical nature. While the article makes light of a cute situation, it errs on the side of slanting the tone to indicate it wrong and a societal health hazard.
lilllbit May 21st 2007 2:40PM
I've got news for ya if you think this practice is limited to small children in Asia. I spent three years living in Taipei, Taiwan and I can vouch for the fact that many adults also squat in the "benjo" ditches (an open, above-ground sewage "system"), in full public view. Apart from the assault on the environment that is circumvented by not using disposable diapers, well, this is just disgusting any way you try to paint it....
nah nah May 21st 2007 2:47PM
This is SICK. OH my god. What the F**K is wrong with those people??
Rachel May 21st 2007 2:52PM
That is just triflin! That is like treating your baby like a dog. "Come on honey,just squat on the side of the road and go!" And I would be way more concerned about clean streets than saving paper. There will always be paper, as long as we're growing trees! Or use cloth diapers! And then to say; "It's much easier to let them go in public than change diapers all the time!" That is pure laziness and downright disgusting! And then to do it on public transportation and be ok with that!
Rachel May 21st 2007 2:57PM
Nah Nah, I would have to agree with you! What is the matter with these people? I guess some cultures never come out of that primitive mind state! Just Sick!!!
ebirch May 21st 2007 2:57PM
In India, adults do it too! One morning on my ride to the airport from the hotel, the taxi drove down a street and it seems all the men were up doing their business in the street and I don't mean #1 either! Disgusting! However later stopping at a roadside park, I wouldn't approach it as the stink could be smelled more than 100 feet away! Now I know why people use the fields, streets, or where ever they wish!