Raising a Child in Germany: Lessons in Parenting and Social Interaction

Imagine a world where a simple train ride can open your eyes to the vast differences in parenting styles across cultures. On this episode of "Hear My True Story," I narrate my journey of raising a child in Germany, highlighting how diverse parenting approaches shape children's social skills. From eye-opening encounters with fellow passengers to the unspoken rules of playground etiquette, uncover the critical lessons learned about encouraging social interactions in young ones. We'll also delve into the subtle yet significant impacts of parental distractions, like mobile phone usage, on children's ability to engage and communicate effectively.

As we wrap up, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to you, our dedicated listeners. Your ongoing support and feedback are the lifeblood of this podcast, driving us to share more personal stories and insightful content week after week. Stay connected with us and join our growing community on YouTube for a more visual experience of "Hear My True Story." Your engagement means the world to us, and we look forward to bringing you more enriching episodes. Until next week, thank you for being part of our journey!

Chapters

• 0:00 Encouraging Social Interaction in Parenting
• 13:30 Expressing Gratitude for Podcast Support

Transcript

Otako: 1:14

As the journey continued, I noticed the kids playing a game with a map of Africa. Then one of the kids pointed and asked what is this? The mother replied that's Africa. And the kid asked what is Africa? And the mother said Africa is a country.

Speaker 2: 1:35

This is your favorite time of the week with your number one podcast. Hear my true story.

Otako: 1:47

Yes, my dear listeners, welcome back to Hear my True Story podcast. It is me, your host Otaku, and I'm happy to have you this wonderful week. Well, today I'm going to talk about some wonderful, interesting topic. I'm not going to give you facts about it, but I'm going to raise questions from my personal experiences as a father, as a parent. Parenting that is so challenging. It comes with a lot of challenges. Actually, it depends where you are raising your child from. Well, for me, I'm here in Germany, meaning another culture for me, because I come from another cultural background, meaning I have another international cultural parenting background. Then I'm living in Germany, where I make also other parenting experiences. So, my dear listeners, I hope that you enjoy this wonderful situation that I go through as a parent, but as a father, that maybe sometimes I make with my daughter as we are experiencing our time.

Otako: 2:41

Thank you so much my dear listeners, I hope you enjoyed this wonderful conversation.

Speaker 2: 2:47

With you every week. Hear my true story.

Otako: 2:58

I was on a train with my wife and daughter when we met another family with two kids. The kids were friendly and made high contact with me. I smiled back to them and said hello. One of the kids started to chat with me, but the mother quickly stopped them, saying you don't have to talk to everyone on a train. The child kept looking at me, showing interest in communicating, but the mother remained firm. This made me wonder why someone discouraged their kids from interacting with other strangers in a safe or maybe in a public place that looks safe for the child. As the journey continued, I noticed the kids playing a game with a map of Africa. Then one of the kids pointed and asked what is this? The mother replied that's Africa. And the kid asked what is Africa? And the mother said Africa is a country. I was tempted to correct the mother, but I held back, respecting our decision to limit our interaction.

Otako: 4:13

Later, at another train station, my daughter started communicating with another stranger, unlike the previous mother. I encouraged her to say hello. I told her please go and say hello to the person. We ended up having a pleasant conversation with the person, who also had a child, although not in the same age bracket, like my daughter, who shared stories. I also got to learn that that person speaks English with their kid. At the same time, I also speak English with my daughter, although we all live in Germany. See how interesting it was. It was because my kid started a conversation with a stranger, hence getting to know each other. This experience made me reflect on parenting styles. You know, social interactions in life are very important for children and, as parents, we should guide them in how to communicate rather than to discourage the kids. You know parenting is full of surprises.

Otako: 5:18

I'm telling you, my dear listeners, for now, my daughter. She loves going to the playground and I enjoy watching her play in the sand, climbing, jumping on the trampoline. While there, I often also observe other parents and their interaction with their kids. So one day I saw a parent who brought toys for their children to play with in the sand. You know, naturally kids are curious, they like to discover and they want to share and play together. But this particular parent did not want their kids to share the toys with others.

Otako: 6:00

It made me think about the importance of sharing. For sure, you know, I always encourage my daughter that if she wants to use something else that she doesn't have and she sees that another kid brought that at the playground, just go and ask if that person kid brought that at the playground. Just go and ask If that person allows you to play with their toy. Then you can play with it, because you know sharing helps the children to learn social skills and also make friends. But seeing a parent who refused to let their children share anything made me realize that our personal behaviors can unconsciously influence our kids. My dear listeners, I know some of you are listening as parents, but since I'm a parent now, I get to realize that parenting is challenging and while, at the same time, it's important to protect our children, we should also encourage them to share and interact with other kids. This helps them to develop the skills the essential skills that they need in their lives the essential skills that they need in their lives. I am telling you because maybe I've got to pay attention to certain things.

Otako: 7:24

I know some parents bring their kids to the public playgrounds but don't want them to play with other kids. I find this puzzling. If you are at a playground, why not let your child interact with other kids on the playground? From my experience, going to the playground with my daughter is an opportunity to meet other parents and learn about their lives. It is also a chance for the kids to play together and develop social skills. If I stopped my daughter from playing with other kids, we would both miss out on those valuable interactions. I remember one particular day when a child showed interest in playing with my daughter. Through this interaction, I got to know the child's parents. We exchanged stories.

Otako: 8:16

We learned about each other's lives. This connection was only possible because we allowed our children to play together. Isolating your child from others can hinder their social development. That is true, I mean, I'm talking this because maybe I'm a person with a background of pedagogy, of working with children, but also I believe that it is important, it is crucial to let kids be kids, to let them explore and make friends. This openness helps them to grow and learn about the world around them.

Otako: 8:56

I remember last weekend I'm in the month of June 2024, so last weekend, while I was on a train, I noticed a parent who spent their entire ride on their phone, ignoring their child. This made me think about how often this happens at playgrounds, too. Parents bring their kids to play but spend most of their time on their phones, missing out the most precious moments. You know me when I'm on a playground, I leave my phone in the pocket and focus on my daughter. I watch what interests her jumping, climbing or playing in the sand, or maybe talking to other people. These moments are important for her development and our bond me and her to bond together. These are the precious moments. It's not only that thing of being on the phone but, however, since I started living in Germany as a parent, I have noticed that parents get very anxious if their kids cry in public.

Otako: 10:06

But crying is a natural way for children to express their emotions and needs. When a child cries, it's not a problem. It is a form of communication and this also goes to the people around. If you see a child crying, don't take it as a big problem. Don't take it as it's bothering your business. You're in a public space, a child is crying, it's okay. Let the child cry. The mother is there or the caretaker is there. They are trying to communicate with the kid, but people take it as a big issue. I remember a time at the playground when a child started crying. Then the parent was frustrated, trying to quiet them down. But crying is okay. It is how children release their emotions and tell us what they need. It is part of their communication.

Speaker 2: 11:00

But my dear listeners.

Otako: 11:02

These are just some of the highlight moments that I have met as a parent too. It is so interesting raising a child. As a parent living in Germany with an international cultural background, you get to learn a lot. But the most important thing that I realized is that it is important for us as parents to encourage social interaction for our children. Let the children be, children.

Otako: 11:29

Let them talk to people. If the child shows the interest of talking to a stranger, encourage them. Sharing is part of life. Encourage the kids to share. If your child wants to share something, let them share. If your child is asking to play with a toy that she didn't bring with, let her go. Encourage her go to ask for it. If they give it to her, it's okay. If they don't give it to her, it is also okay. It's part of life. Let the children play with peers. If your child is showing interest to play with other kids, well, my dear parent, let the child play with other kids, because that is very important for their development in various areas, for example, communication skills, social skills.

Otako: 12:14

But also another thing I got to learn is that for us as parents myself is to be there, be present, be active in the moments with my kid. That is very important. Nothing that can distract us. Sometimes we can't avoid them, like phones. Well, try hard by yourself to be there, be active, available when your child is doing such things like playing in the sun, jumping on the trampoline, maybe climbing. Those things are important for you to observe them. Perhaps you learn a lot from that. So, at the end of it.

Otako: 12:50

All this experience has made me reflect on the challenges and responsibilities of parenting. So here's my question for all of you who are listening, perhaps, to this wonderful episode today on Hear my True Story Are today's parenting methods too restrictive or are they simply adapting to new challenges? How can we find a balance that promotes health, social development for our children? How do we deal with this? Well, anyway, I don't have answers for that. Perhaps my dear listeners can also think about these questions. Well, I want to that. Perhaps my dear listeners can also think about these questions. Well, I want to say my dear listener, thank you so much for listening to hear my true story podcast. It has been me, otaku, your host.

Otako: 13:34

I'm always happy to share my personal experiences and well my dear listeners, if you are interested in listening to this wonderful podcast, hear my true story podcast, go on to the description Send us a text. Let us know how you feel about this episode. Well, every feedback that we get makes us to do more episodes. Maybe you can also say thank you for doing such a wonderful episode, and I'll be happy. It will make me stronger and also it will give me an opportunity to create more content for you guys who are listening. Thank you so much, much, and I would like to say bye for now, till next week.

Speaker 2: 14:11

It has been me, otaku, your host we not only have voices for a podcast, but also faces for youtube. Don't miss your next episode. Hear my true story.