Children

Last night was Halloween, and as is our tradition, we brought Aiden's little German friend, Devin, with us. That, and the fact that I was surrounded by swarms of German and American kids last night, got me reflecting on the differences between German and American kids. Yes, they are quite different in some ways. Disclaimer: neither group of kids is better or worse than the other, but the differences in the children are so striking to me that I feel compelled to explore them.

First thing you'll notice is that German kids call adults by their first name--a shocking and disrespectful thing to many Americans. At the very least, we expect to be called Miss Andrea or Uncle so-and-so. This is something I've gotten used to since my son has started bringing his German friends around and I've been called aunDRAYuh by all his friends. But I still notice it each time because I am so used to my students calling me Miss R.

The other thing you'll notice is the confidence these little 5 year-olds exude. American children, when they encounter an unfamiliar adult are usually reserved and cautious. Not so for a German child. Take Aiden's birthday party, for instance. It was the first time that many of Aiden's friends had met me, and yet...They were appalled that I did not provide ice cream to go with the cupcakes that I'd painstakingly baked and decorated. They kept asking where it was. At one point, one of the children took it upon himself to "help" me by going over and checking out the price of the Sternenland-provided ice cream, stating, "It's only .41 cents." So, I finally took the hint and the kids got their ice cream.

Here's another funny, but typical, contrast. We're standing in line for movie tickets. There are some kids running around the lobby, screaming. They're German. The American parents in line are glaring at the German parents, who are oblivious because this is just what children do, right? Yes, German kids are allowed to run more freely than our American children.

Again, these are stereotypical examples. Not all American children are reserved and respectful, while not all German kids are audacious and confident. These are just general observations I've made over the years and have found that other American friends tend to notice these things, too. One set of kids is not better or worse than the other. As a matter of fact, what may be unusual or disconcerting for one group of adults is normal to the other. And my perspective is the American one...I've not been brave enough to ask a German adult what they think about American kids. It's very interesting how different people can be from the very start, and I think these differences are significant in how we end up as adults viewing and interacting with the world. But in the end, once we're all adults and you strip away the varying viewpoints stemming from very different life experiences, we're all just people who are curious about each other in the end.