How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm

How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm

For any parent weary of the so-called 'expert advice' peddled in books and on TV, How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm lifts the lid on how other cultures parent their children, with some interesting - and surprising - insights. Mei-Ling Hopgood explores how mums and dads in other countries approach such issues as bedtime, potty training, healthy eating and playtime squabbles and offers some fascinating new perspectives on how to do things.

This inspiring, engaging and fun read proves that there are many ways to be a good parent - and more than one way to raise a child.

Mei-Ling Hopgoodis a journalist and writer who has written for various publications. A newspaper feature she wrote for US newspaper St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the reunion with her birth family won a national award from the Asian American Journalists Association. She lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her husband and their two daughters.

How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm
Macmillan Australia
Author: Mei-Ling Hopgood
ISBN: 9781447224570
Price: $29.99

Interview with Mei-Ling Hopgood

Question: What inspired you to write How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm?

Mei-Ling Hopgood: I lived abroad in Argentina for more than seven years and my daughters were born there. My first experiences as a parent were in a foreign country, and I couldn't help but not the differences big in small in everything from how people treated pregnant woman, to the late hour in which they put their kids to bed. It made me think about my own international family, and my travels, and the variety of parenting methods out there.


Question: Can you provide us with a couple of the interesting and surprising insights on how other cultures parent their children?

Mei-Ling Hopgood: That many cultures don't obsess over early bedtimes or sleep routines (argentina, many places in Latin America, Italy/Spain, warm weather countries where people eat late); In rural China, India children know how to use the toilet (which may be a hole, or different kind of a latrine) before they are a year old; That in many if not MOST cultures, parents don't feel compelled to play with their children.


Question: What do you hope parents take away from How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm?

Mei-Ling Hopgood: I hope they can extract tips here and there that might make their lives easier, but mostly I hope they can feel reassured in knowing that there are many ways in the world to raise a happy and healthy child.


Question: How do you approach healthy eating with your daughters?

Mei-Ling Hopgood: I try to include them in the preparation of food, even if it's just sitting at the counter while I am cooking. And I have always told them that they can eat whatever is on my plate or their plate (which is the same, most of the time). I tried to praise my daughters when they try things, and we take them to eat different foods that we love all the time.


Question: Are you currently working on another book?

Mei-Ling Hopgood: I'm playing with some ideas, but nothing concrete yet!


How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm