Why Canadians find our relationship with our parents egregious

It is always interesting to compare how different the way of life in different countries, how different people treat even their neighbors, colleagues and relatives. And today's edition. "Site" Find out how Canadians treat their parents. And what outrages them when they look at family ties in the post-Soviet space.



We moved to Canada relatively recently, just over three years ago. But they have already acquired some acquaintances, a little felt the local life and noticed curious differences. What is interesting is how Canadians treat their parents and grandparents. But they were also surprised by our orders, Anton writes.



“It was a pleasant surprise for them to see how actively we keep in touch with the older generation. Canadians and Americans don’t get that often. Every generation lives its own life here. Children and parents rarely come to visit their parents and children. And no one will leave small children with grandparents. If necessary, just hire a nurse. No wonder the profession is so popular here.”



However, the fact that our grandchildren can stay with their grandparents for weeks is unpleasantly surprising to Canadians. It seems to them that in this way we only prevent the older generation from living their own lives, imposing their own affairs and concerns on them.”

“This view can be understood by looking at what averages do. Canadian retirees. They either travel, spend time on their hobbies, or simply idle. It seems strange to them to make blanks for the winter or to sit in the garage for days.”



“So it’s amazing for a Canadian that a parent can leave a child with their grandparents all weekend.” Or instruct the elderly to pick up the child from school or kindergarten. And the fact that a grandmother with a grandson in a wheelchair will be happy to walk along the street seems something out of the ordinary.

A familiar Canadian explained his point of view by the fact that if a person worked all his life, then in old age he has the legal right to rest. And as much as I tried to convince the Canadian that this was normal for us, he never agreed with my arguments. I learned that if you work all your life for the good of the family, then at the end of your life, the family should repay you with something good, and not burden you with new worries.



Of course, I said that our people in the later years are only happy to participate in family life and enjoy it. But a representative of another nation disagreed with me. He decided that older relatives help children and grandchildren only because they do not want to spoil relations with them. But this is not so! – Anton complains.



It seems that people living in the post-Soviet space simply treat their grandchildren differently. We remember the time we spent with our friends. grandparents. We try to be no worse for our grandchildren. We try to teach children something good while parents are busy at work from morning to evening.

After all, who will teach a grandson to ride a bicycle, fish or pick mushrooms, if not his grandfather? Who will teach you how to cook potatoes, sew holes on clothes or solve intricate problems, if not grandmother? And it is great when the family maintains good relationships that make the joint pastime of relatives of any age pleasant and memorable.