Cultural differences do exist as far as child care in India and the West is concerned (“Cultural sensibilities matter in parenting”, Aug.21). Therefore, it is not surprising to find Indian parents often unwittingly landing themselves in trouble. I have come across many such instances during my visits to the U.S.
An Indian grandfather went to the U.S. for the first time and a few months after his grandson was born there. He was once taken for a drive by the child’s parents, and the doting grandfather placed the infant on his lap. It wasn’t long before a policeman appeared out of nowhere, stopped the car and asked why the child was not strapped into the child seat. The grandfather’s ready response that no seat could be safer for a tender child than one’s lap was only met with an icy glare. The family had to pay a hefty fine and was advised to follow “American rules while in America”.
K.D. Viswanaathan,Coimbatore
A relative of mine who lives in the “developed world” once gave her daughter medication after the girl complained of a headache. It became an issue as the authorities cited parental abuse as a probable reason for the girl’s headache.
Mani Kapoor Sharma,Bhiwadi, Rajasthan
