Michael A. Turton
The outside
of the Taichung Harbor Arts Center during an exhibition of dinosaurs
from
China.|
Michael A. Turton |
The outside
of the Taichung Harbor Arts Center during an exhibition of dinosaurs
from
China. |
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.... AND ARE COMING TO TAIWAN |
 Welcome to the brave new world of SARS. Fortunately it has
abated in
Taiwan....for
now. |
Forward Due to popular demand, I have prepared a page on bearing and raising children in Taiwan aimed at parents coming to Taiwan with their kids, and assuming that both parents are non-Taiwanese. I have two kids of my own, but my wife is Taiwanese, so our situation is slightly different. This page on kids in Taiwan is dedicated to my son and daughter.
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| It's
back: enterovirus,
a child killer, is now endemic in Taiwan. Chances are extremely
slim
your child will get it, but in 1998 several score children were killed
by it. It recurs every yearn or two now, thanks to poor hygiene,
killing five or six children. Just something else to think
about.....wash
those hands well!
And don't forget: handwashing also helps prevent SARS. And Bird Flu....too bad it's no good against Mad Cow.... |
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 Taiwan is full of fascinating bugs your kids will love. |
| First, there is a lack of open space, especially in the cities. Developers have been given free rein and consequently have created tyrannical, oppressive, crowded, lightless and airless living environments. |  The front of a local
elementary school. |
| There is a shortage of accessible park space, although many small local parks are quite nice and well-equipped with playground equipment, sand pits and pleasing landscaping (the crowding of trees and equipment in parks is a deliberate authoritarian design practice-- parks with no open space cannot be used as assembly points for protests and other political activities. Contrast the claustrophobic, over-landscaped parks of KMT-run Taipei with the open parks of DPP-run I-Lan). |  My
son puzzles over a cage of songbirds at the fortuneteller's booth in a
night market. |
| Park equipment is often not very safe, however. A few places, such as I-lan on the East Coast about three hours from Taipei, have excellent, roomy parks with plenty of open space. Farther south, outside the big cities, there may be no parks at all. In Taliao (outside Kaohsiung) where we used to live, there are no serious parks, while the adjacent township has only one. |  Exploring Reptile World in Tainan County. Taiwan offers many
possibilities
for small side trips to interesting, fun places for kids. |
| In recent years the
government has been investing heavily in leisure and tourism, resulting
in an explosion of new places to take kids. |
 My son and my father take pictures at Sanyi. |
 One of Taiwan's oldest tourist traps, Window on China. |
| Taiwan's cities are dirty, but given their amazing population densities and lack of civic/community sense, they are about as clean as they can be. |  Hiking
with friends on the ridges near Keelung. |
| The cities are also difficult to get around in if
you have
small kids. Generally, bus drivers pay no attention to the needs of
parents
with
small children when stopping or starting their vehicles. Sidewalks are
crowded, uneven and difficult to push strollers around on. People do
not
help women with strollers here. |
 My kids play with fire. We
are fortunate in having a large backyard. |
| Outside of the north, the city bus systems are extremely undeveloped, so your family will need transportation. | 
On
a class trip to the Taipei Zoo in April of 2004. |
| There are few diaper changing
stations
anywhere, but some of the major store chains now have them. Change is
slowly rolling over Taiwan. |
 My daughter models a tiny frog she caught near our house. |
 Playing
games at the night market with my son. |
| Taiwanese children routinely pee outdoors in public areas and nobody thinks anything of it. This ethic can be a godsend if no bathrooms are available. |  A kiddie pool in an apartment complex in Taichung. Many
newer complexes
have such play facilities. |
| The weather can be a pain. It often rains from January to March in the north, making outdoor trips impossible. I have been here through winters in which it has rained every day for sixty days on end. Kids go insane under those conditions. In the summer the sun can be nasty and burns can occur quickly -- slather those kids with sunscreen and make them wear hats. The weather is much hotter in the south and it rains much less, but the pollution is appalling. |  The kids at soccer
practice at Morrison Christian Academy in Taichung. |
| A major issue here for children is security.
People advise you to watch your
kids like a hawk. Kidnapping and child snatching are commonly held to
be a serious problem in
Taiwan,
though they do not happen often to Westerners. Many of the tales you
hear have an urban legendish feel to them. |
 A local park in northern Taichung. This one is fairly
representative. |
| Another major problem for westerners are Taiwanese child-rearing values. The emphasis in this culture is on authority and control. Social values here are very undemocratic (indeed, whether democracy is compatible with Asian culture is a frequent topic of debate in academic newsgroups and email lists on Asia). |  At the ice skating rink in
Taichung. |
| Additionally, there is a strong violent streak in interpersonal relations which kids pick up from a young age. Hitting, kicking, punching and bullying are commonplace in the schools. | 
The
kids study a toad they have caught in the woods near our house. |
 Enjoying
a slice of chocolate mousse cake with a good friend at a local
restaurant. |
| Taiwanese parents also do not give their children the rich stimulation that middle-class parents overseas do, particularly with respect to outdoor activities. Taiwanese kids, especially outside of Taipei, do not read books, or play board games, nor are they given 'dirty' things to play with like markers and paper, clay, flour, sandboxes and so forth (because of the lack of things to do, mothers constantly complain that their children are uncontrollable. In reality, they are just bored.) |  Playing on the beach at
Kenting. |
| As with everything else in Taiwan, NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. I can't emphasize enough how important forming connections is. In Taiwan connections are the way things get done. Personal networks may allow you to purchase things cheaply, to hear about good doctors, to find things to do and so forth. | 
My daughter and her class at the local
elementary school. |
| As for US taxes, kids overseas are NOT eligible for the income tax credit for low-income parents if they have been resident overseas for more than half the year. Most everything else is the same, however. If your income is excluded on Form 2555 (overseas income), you are not eligible for the child tax credit either. For both Taiwan and US taxes, coming in January is the best time. | 
My
kids rewrite history and sink Bismarck with Soviet carriers and
American battleships. Most childhood hobby stuff, from models to
gas-powered
aircraft, is available in Taiwan. |
| Finally,
remember, you will be 12,000 miles
from family
and friends. You have no support network here and it will take a
long
time to develop one. There may be no one to take care of the kids when
you want to see a movie or go dancing or drinking or shopping or just
plain
get away from the demands of toddlers. No one will be able to comfort
you
when you are down or reassure you that you are a good parent when you
are
feeling stressed and incapable. There may be no one to borrow money
from
when you need to, no one to take care of one kid when you need to take
the other to the doctor, no nice neighbors to park the kids with for an
hour while you run errands.
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 My daughter makes
home-made ice cream at Flying Cow Farm in Miaoli. |
| Your stress level as a parent is going to go way, way up parenting in Taiwan. |  Sheridan catches some rays at the dentist's office after some idiot adult bashed her teeth in at the local wading pool. |
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 My
daughter wrestles our...irish wolfhound? sheepdog? |
 Stopping at a highway rest stop for juice, milk, and
overpriced food. |
The wider the selection of cold and cough stuff you bring, the better off you are. Your kids will suffer frequently from colds, especially in the winter, and especially in the south. SARS caused demand for thermometers to skyrocket, so bring an electronic thermometer. A couple of fat tubes of antibiotic ointment will also come in handy. |
 My kids ride the train at Leofoo
Village, an amusement park near
Kuanhsi. |
If you use cloth diapers, bring a generous supply
as the
local versions are of very low quality. A child's first-aid kit will be
useful too. This New Zealand
expat sells quality cloth diapers in Taiwan online. |
 A park in Taipei. Note the winter clothing. It's colder than
you think
in Taipei. |
Taiwan is very developed and most things are widely available. Diapers are easily found. Baby and toddler stuff may be purchased almost anywhere, even in local drugstores, and Toys'R'Us carries a large selection of brand-name Western infant and toddler goods. Bandaids and minor medical stuff are as available as in the US. |
At
play at Morrison Christian School in Taichung. |
Vaccinations: a couple of diseases are more prevalent in Taiwan. Vaccination against Japanese Menangitis (er4 ben3 nau3 yen2) should be considered mandatory and may be obtained inexpensively in Taiwan. Check with a pediatrician when you get in. |
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 My son
takes my niece for a ride in a toy car at the local night market. |
 My wife waits to go in to see the doctor in a hospital
waiting
area. |
With doctors you
may have to insist on a
seven-day supply
of antibiotics -- they may only want to give out a three-day supply (be
prepared to pay). Or, when the problem turns out to be a virus, they
may
simply discontinue antibiotics before they have run their course.
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 A new generation learns an old favorite. |
You will also have to insist that they explain each medication to you, since doctors will not do so of their own intiative. It's not what's done in the local culture, and they haven't the time. |
Zeb
and Dan-dan teach their cousins English at a family gathering for the
60th
birthday of Second Aunt. |
Do not purchase any over-the-counter antibiotics. Everyone uses them, and the bugs are all resistant now. |
 A
vendor sells donuts on a Taichung street. |
A major health lack is the absence of mechanisms for children with special needs, though in the last few years more and more specialists are appearing. Many local expats now report that they can find what they need. Ordinary day care, frequently run by non-professionals, regards such children as "stupid" and will not defend them from abuse by other kids. As an English teacher I see many, many children who should be in early intervention programs of one sort or another, but are simply regarded as "stupid" and shunted aside in a cookie-cutter system which neither cares about them nor provides for them. If you have children with truly serious problems, I would rethink coming to Taiwan. |
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 Sebastian
and Sheridan grab tofu for hot pot in a morning market in January of
2004.
That winter was bitterly cold by local standards. |
| I used to have a section on childbirth at this point. I
eliminated
it, but retained this letter from a friend: My name's Catherine, I'm Josh Lawrence's wife, of Taiwan-Teachers fame. I was just reading through your website, Kids section, and thought you'd like to know that Josh and I, along with another Taiwanese/American couple, found a great doctor in Kaohsiung willing to do homebirths. His name is Dr. Maw-Sheng Chang (not totally sure of first name), and works out Chang's women's hospital. He works with a fabulous midwife- both are very low-key people, Josh and I barely noticed them at the birth of our child 2.5 years ago. We had a homebirth, and it went really really well. Our friends have had two children using this 'dynamic duo'. It was surprisingly supportive, despite initial disagreements between myself and Dr. Chang, he ultimately let me decide and, more importantly, let me control the situation. He charges around $30,000 nt for a homebirth, plus the usual fees for each monthly visit to his hospital. He has worked a lot with the Dutch expat community in Kaohsiung, through whom I found him. Your kids section is great, so sadly true..... |
 The
dog makes a
splash. |
| Care and Feeding
Unless you can afford to buy imported baby food at astronomical prices, you will have to make your own. Blenders and other equipment are widely available at good prices and vegetables hit the markets fresh every day. Read the page on food located at my site for more information. Formula is comparable in price to the US and widely available. Ingredients will be listed in English in most cases. Locally-made formulas are high in sugar, we have found. |
 Zeb struggles to master the intricacies of Hanon. Lessons
for piano,
violin
and most other musical instruments are available even in the smallest
of
neighborhoods. Pianos are only marginally cheaper than in the US. We
bought
ours dirt cheap from a rebuilder who put together a Japanese keyboard
of
real ivory, a Korean case, and a German soundboard. |
| Diapers and wipes are affordable and widely available. Local cloth diapers are hideously bad. We gave up on cloth because the local climate is so wet that diaper rash is more frequent (and painful) and because they often take days to dry in the rainy winter weather in the north. |  A
school bus van waits to pull out. Vans like this are the most common
forms
of transportation for kindergartens and cram schools. |
| Kids clothing is cheap in local night markets and widely available. The quality is often quite excellent, since much of what gets sold in night markets is dumped there by OEM manufacturers who overproduced, or made errors, etc. |  My daughter reading in front of the university library.
University
libraries
make great outings for kids. |
| If you like making your own clothing, cloth can be had cheaply down on Tihua St. in Taipei, where the spice and textile merchants make their home (well worth a site-seeing trip). There is a textile wholesale and retail market there. Retail cloth stores can be found everywhere. Sewing machines are widely available (but a little expensive) and many department stores offer free sewing lessons. |  Children
taking rollerblading lessons at a local school. |
| Children's utensils, cups, etc may be purchased at most toy stores, Toys'R'Us, drug stores and so forth. Most places sell brand name baby soaps, powders and shampoos. Baby furniture, including cribs, beds and mattresses, is also widely available, especially at Toys'R'Us. |  The grounds of Donghai University in Taichung. Schools
provide open
spaces
in Taiwan's densely populated cities. |
| Toys will be a problem. Toys'R'Us is heavily commercialized, sells only tie-in toys, expensive brand names, and little in the way of affordable educational stuff. We seldom shop there; there is hardly a less useful toy place in Taiwan. Local toys are laughable in both conception and production quality, and tend strongly to violent themes. Bring what you need, and search diligently for the occasional treasure that pops up. |  Nightmarkets have everything you need. |
| Convenience stores are everywhere and there is always one when you need it. You can depend on them for 100% juices, snacks and other necessities. Their ubiquity means you don't have to travel with as much stuff, since you can always stop to buy juice, snacks and so forth. McDonald's can be found even in the smaller cities, though very small towns will not have one. | 
The
interior of a 7-11 in Kenting National Park. Sushi, tea eggs, fruit
juice,
cookies, hot dogs -- a mish-mash of the quick foods of East and West. |
| For some idea of costs, see the section on living Expenses on my money page. We have two kids and spend about $25-30,000 a month not counting rent. In order to save US$1,000 a month, you will probably need more than $70,000 a month in income as parents. Such a figure is well within reach, but it will take time to get up there. You will also need to pay for a visa run for your wife and kids, a minimum of 18,000 or so for three tickets to Hong Kong (see below) every six months, unless they can stay on your permit (check what the law is when you get in). |  Riding the electric scooter. Children's helmets and other
safety
equipment
are available everywhere. |
| However, if you have to educate your kids at a private school here, you will need to spend around NT$30K monthly. That takes a huge bite out of your paycheck! Consider: with rent at 10K, living expenses at 20K and school at 30K, you would need 60K just to live on the brink here in Taiwan with one kid. If your spouse also works, it's not a problem. |  A
selection of grilled stuff, great for kids. |
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 My
daughter in Kenting National Park. Beaches and mountains offer plenty
of
outdoor adventure. |
Heavy
with fruit, lychee trees overhang a country road. Many country lanes
offer
pleasant walks. |
Adoption is not easy here. Nevertheless, we know
people who have successfully adopted. With China throwing up
impediments to adoption, American attention has shifted to Taiwan. |
My
son does homework. We homeschooled him for about six months prior to
sending
him to Morrison. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we had
prepared
him much better than the school does. The success of our homeschooling
program left us somewhat ambivalent about sending him to a $10K
annually
private school. |
The system here grinds slowly, but it does grind,
and you will be able to adopt once you have jumped through all the
hoops. |
 Enjoying the equipment in Tungshih Forest Park. |
Taiwan's adoption system is
geared toward Americans, and non-Americans may be told that they must
go through an American adoption agency. Another obstacle people have
encountered is the expansion of hate-filled, controlling evangelical
Christianity, whose
orphanages only adopt to certain kinds of Christians. |
 My kids learn GPS from an enthusiast. |
For private adoptions, which
roll along much faster than public ones,
you will need to network with doctors. They will know where the babies
are, since they are treating their mothers. Try the Yahoo.com Taiwan Adoption Forum for all your adoption questions. |
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 Clowning
for the camera on a mountain road in Nantou. |
 Blowing bubbles on the
grassy stretches on Chunghsinghsintsun, the
planned
town erected for the provincial government in central Taiwan. |
The Taipei Zoo is wonderful. Clean, inexpensive and conveniently located at the end of the metro line. A very good outing every couple of months. The Kaohsiung Zoo is even better -- tough on the animals, but very small and completely shaded. Perfect for kids. |
 In
the petting Zoo at Leofoo Village. In addition to hosting a theme park
with rides, Leofoooffers a small but well-equipped zoo. |
Most other animal attractions succumbed to the declining economy at the end of the 1990s, but Leofoo Village has small zoo with a good collection of large mammals. |
Meandering
through the massive fish tanks at the Kenting Aquarium. |
Although land animals are scarce, there are world-class aquariums in Taipei, Kenting, and Penghu. |
Even
the smallest local bakery offers an enticing array of baked goods for
kids. |
Many local parks in Taipei are quite nice, with generous sand pits and challenging playground equipment. The northern suburbs generally have better parks than the southern suburbs, but good parks may be found everywhere. Many children like the park in Taipei west of the domestic airport, since the approach to the airport brings the aircraft right over the park at low altitude. |
 Zeb
contemplates the offerings at a carnival at his sister's school. |
Enjoying
milk and donuts on a downtown outing. |
There are campgrounds and several famous mountain resorts (La La Shan) easily accessible from Taipei. Often just taking the train and getting off in a small town will result in a pleasant trip to an uncrowded and interesting place. |
 Going
to the Taipei Zoo in 1996. After the economic devastation of the late
1990s,
the Taipei Zoo is one of just three or four animal displays on the
island.
On the other hand, aquariums have become big in recent years. |
Yangminshan National Park, right outside of Taipei, has plenty of open space for kids to run around in. Another good site is the park on the tip of Hoping Island in Keelung Harbor. Not only is there a small amusement facility, but there are some fascinating eroded rocks for climbing, tidal pools for watching fish and many walkways for exploring. |
 Temples are lots of fun for all! Here we are at a temple in
the Taipei
suburb of Neihu several years ago. This large temple not only offers
spectacular
views of northern Taipei, but also boasts a small convenience store.
Sitting
at the top of a large hill, it provided exercise, scenery, and sweets
for
the end of the walk. There are many such temples in Taiwan. |
Open spaces may often be found in temples and schools, especially in the park-poor south. Temples are often great places to take kids. There are all sorts of mysterious goings-on and nooks and crannys to run around in. Society is very tolerant of children doing their thing in temples. In Taiwan social and religious functions are not divorced and people standing around chatting, eating or playing with their kids is a common sight in every temple. Many temples are important local gathering areas as well as tourist sites with wonderful views and are used to having small kids around. |
My
children participate in a political demonstration. |
The American Club sponsors American-style events -- Fourth of July parties, etc. Check with them to see what is going on and if it is appropriate for little kids. |
 Playing
air hockey outside the Starbucks in Keelung. |
 The
Northeast coast offers spectacular scenery and interesting history,
including
gold and precious stone mines, and this copper processing plant left
behind
by the Japanese. POWs worked here during WWII and lived at the nearby
POW
camp, whose ruins are still extant. |
Older kids will have fewer choices. Taiwanese kids watch TV (much more than American kids) or play basketball, but mostly they do homework. The mediocre, high-pressure educational system here robs children of their childhood and does not encourage the development of hobbies, interests, etc. You'll have to network to find out about options for older kids. See the page on Recreation for more ideas. |
My
wife and daughter ponder a game of Sequence. |
If you are a games-playing family, be sure to
BRING some.
The locals do not play board games and almost no board games are
available
here. Be sure to bring Risk, a US Monopoly version, a good Scrabble
version,
Life, and similar games. Don't imagine that "I'll get it later" or "My
parents can ship it." Buy it, and bring it with you.
Note that many large internet retailers will not ship games
out of the
US.
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 Picking
up some household necessities at the local nightmarket. |
High quality playing cards and dice are available everywhere. |
 Blowing
bubbles in a Taichung Park. |
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| Be aware that if you put your kid in the local system, they may get hit by the teachers, especially at one of the larger and more high-pressure schools (in Taipei hitting is almost gone). If your child is hit and you are not comfortable with that, by all means talk directly to the school principal. The local parents may complain as well, so you will not be an anomaly. |  My
son's class prepares for school. |
| I have one
child in the local system, and had one child at Morrison Christian
Academy,
the local American missionary school, in Taichung. I am now
homeschooling him. |
A concert at Morrison. |
| Although in general the Taiwanese school system is markedly inferior to the US, the elementary schools are not too bad (the real problems begin in junior high school). One major advantage of Taiwanese schools is the quality of the lunches. With vegetables, fish, rice, and fresh fruit served at every meal, they blow away the ugly brown fried fare of American schools. |  My daughter celebrates her birthday with her class at the
local
elementary
school. Her teacher, an exceptionally together and intelligent young
woman,
prevents things from getting out of hand. |
If you feel like being active, local schools are glad to accept a hand. We volunteer at my daughter's school, where my wife tends the library one day a week as a volunteer mother. Here is a field trip to a mushroom farm we accompanied in June of 2005. |
 My kids enjoy a laugh on a school field trip for my daughter's school. |
 Zeb
and Dan-dan cook up experiments in the backyard. I've never seen a
local
child be permitted to play with mud like this. |
| For preschoolers there are a large number of day-care and preschools in a variety of languages. Many are unlicensed and run by individuals without formal training or credentials. If your kid has any special needs they will not be catered to. And be careful, some day-care places hit the kids, though most do not. Additionally, teachers often will not intervene when kids abuse each other and will often focus their attention mainly on older kids or children of wealthy parents (also true in the schools). |  My son's preschool class in 1998. Good preschools may be
found
everywhere.
Bad ones too. |
| During end-of-the-semester periods, teachers will
be busy
preparing plays and presentations for the older kids to show off to
their
parents and often younger children will be neglected.
But don't be too paranoid -- many children of foreigners go to day-care in Taiwan without trouble. Try and find a local place which has been around for a long time. |
 A little electric car facility at a park in Taichung. |
| It is not difficult to find nannies. You can also
apply
for a Filipino maid through the government, but they cost money and you
have to demonstrate a need. However, many work illegally. A large
percentage
of Taiwanese women earn second incomes caring for babies and toddlers
during
the day. Many middle-class mothers work, frequently from 8 to 8, and
caregivers
are now one of the major child raising strategies for working mothers.
Many grandparents are taking care of children, a strain on both, but
it's
free to the mother.
This social phenomenon of caregivers being primary child-raisers may have devastating effects for the next generation, but the government is completely indifferent to the trend. |
 Where we're planning to take the kids
next.... |
| If you are taking care of kids yourself Taiwan has many resources. Toys'R'Us and other toy stores carry high-quality imported toys, safe and educational. Books, posters and videos in English and Chinese are widely and cheaply available. Caves Bookstore has an impressive selection of English children's books. Disney videos can often be had after Disney has yanked them from the market in the States. Some children are educated entirely at home and home schooling curricula are widely available. |  My
kids on the glass-bottomed boat in Kenting. Tourist rip-offs like this
transcend cultural boundaries. Even the kids were bored. |
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 Celebrating
the loot we collected at the exhibition of artifacts from the Louvre in
Taipei in November of 2003. |
 My
daughter dances at a local school carnival to raise money for the
school. |
Agencies like to impress clients with the number of possible models they can bring into a job, and will call you in to show off your kids even when there is no hope. If they don't pay for transportation, you can end up investing a lot of money with little return. |
 At
a private swmming pool complex. Such pool complexes are common even in
small towns. |
Music lessons of every kind are widely available
in the
cities. Yamaha operates a chain of schools which provide instruction in
any kind of instrument. Ballet, art, calligraphy and other classes are
also widely available.
Child-oriented computer software in English and Chinese is widely and cheaply available.
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Got
flour? Mom and Dan-dan show off the results of eating a favorite local
dessert. |
For specific ideas and questions, visit this forum dedicated to raising foreign kids in Taiwan. |
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Baking,
a fun activity for kids in any country.
The
owner of an internet cafe shows off her domain. Internet cafes are
prime
hangouts for the high school and college set.
Monkeying
around in a local park.
A
killer whale claims two victims during an outing to the Aquarium in
Kenting.
A
toyseller occupies a section of a busy three lane street.
Sheridan
looks for new construction technology.
My
kids read each other stories they have written. Children's English
books
are expensive and found only in a few large stores, Caves and Eslite.
Washing the car is fun in any country.