For all my talk about cultural differences in parenting just being different, without attaching judgemental labels, it breaks my heart to see the way kids react when they see a picture book. Last month was the commencement service for the university and a number of children from the neighbourhood attended. […]
Motherhood as Spiritual Practice is the second in Seedbed‘s ‘Spirituality for the Streets’ series. This short collection of reflections took me less than an hour to read and I take it that’s intentional – it’s aimed at the busy mum. The premise of the book is that on top of […]
I think Elliot has passed some sort of Tanzanian developmental milestone. Where before I had to ensure that he was wearing socks, and field questions about whether he was cold, now that he’s walking the discussion is about whether he’s talking yet. This is also possibly because he’s twice the […]
When I get told off for dressing my son inappropriately, sometimes I try to give reasons to explain why. For example, I might talk about the weather or his level of activity. However, I commonly receive the same baffling reply, ‘Well, you’re in Tanzania now!’ When this happens, I think […]
It’s a well known adage that parenthood is an opportunity for everyone else in your life (or randoms who see you at the supermarket) to let loose about how you should be parenting. Even if it’s commentary rather than condemnation, there’s a fair bit of opinion. It’s not hard to […]
I was standing outside the church at Songea because Elliot had been making noise. I watched the other kids who were there, all peacefully reclining on their mothers’ backs or sitting still on their haunches. Meanwhile, Elliot tore around the yard, covering himself in dirt. Is this sort of curiosity […]
There are still a number of things that remain a mystery to me about Tanzanian parenting. For example, I see students on their way to class with a child on their back – what on earth do they do with the baby/toddler during lectures? During our intercultural training, we were […]
Meet Jesus at uni 