Raising kids in Bali

Raising kids is something that most of us aren’t trained for but have to deal with sooner or later. I actually enjoy it, partly because I know it won’t last forever and partly because it brings a refreshing reality to things.

Ika has a new job working for a lawyer, which I encourage. Getting out and living life is what life’s about. Sitting around like a molder, getting older and rotting away is death on wheels. Ika works for Corby’s lawyer, who by all accounts is a nice person (likes ayam bakar). The job means Ibu Ana (the pembantu) has to juggle house cleaning with babysitting. We did hire a Balinese girl to look after Jevon for 4 hours a day, but she quit after 1 day.

Its all good for me, its just that I have to cover the period between Ana leaving (5pm) and Ika arriving (6.15pm). Today Jevon went completely berserk, screaming, crying, pulling me, climbing on the table, on my typing machine, anything to get me to stop working and deal with him. Tip: a glass of milk and a cheese slice take the edge off of young kids (until the milk and cheese slice are finished). The refreshing thing about spending time with your kids is there’s no bullshit. After years of hanging around internet people and computers, its a wake up call to be with someone who holds nothing back, shits in front of you and has nothing to hide.

As soon a Ika’s sister arrived, Jevon was all smiles, as good as gold. A good parenting site from Australia deals with many of the issues young kids have.