What's It Like Raising Kids in Germany? w/

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Feli from Germany

Feli from Germany

Жыл бұрын

What's it like raising kids in Germany compared to the US? Sara, Kevin, and their four kids from @MyMerryMessyGermanLife moved from Atlanta, Georgia to a small town in the South of Germany at the beginning of 2021 and have had a lot of experience with this topic. Since I don't have kids myself, I wanted to know from them how their everyday life as a family has changed in Germany, what they think of the parenting style, and how their experience with the German school system has been so far. Thanks so much for collaborating with me!
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 28, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other topics I come across in my everyday life in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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Пікірлер: 501
@FelifromGermany
@FelifromGermany Жыл бұрын
Make sure you also check out the video we did over on "My Merry Messy Life" about drinking culture in Germany vs. the US! ▸kzfaq.info/get/bejne/itCGZbd53MXWZXk.html By the way, the conversation went on for much longer than what you're seeing here, I actually cut out a whole topic because I was thinking to publish that separately. It's about how American and German parents deal with their kids' first girlfriends/boyfriends as well as sex education. Is that a topic you guys are interested in? 🤔😊
@h.g.wellington2500
@h.g.wellington2500 Жыл бұрын
Yeah. It sounds interesting. If they come from Georgia, there'll be some differences with Germany for sure, especially with regard to sex education.
@IvanPlayyz
@IvanPlayyz Жыл бұрын
What about ding dong ditching
@IvanPlayyz
@IvanPlayyz Жыл бұрын
@Feli From Germany why did you skip Verona,Italy
@sirgothnerd9297
@sirgothnerd9297 Жыл бұрын
@@h.g.wellington2500 there vedio of what it like to have german girlfriend it channel called smile squad
@kevintucker322
@kevintucker322 Жыл бұрын
Surely interested!
@LucaSitan
@LucaSitan Жыл бұрын
Ok. I'm a teacher (in Germany, formerly in the UK) and as to how to treat the kids: the disparity is mostly down to parents expecting their kids to be dealt with as individuals, as they are at home. But in a classroom there are between 25 and 35 of them and group mentality (especially when teens) soon takes over. Fact is, within a large group, amongst peers, kids act very different from how they do at home. And parents neither see nor know this. Plus, in just 45 minutes, we do not have the time to deal with each kid on an individual, personal basis. If we had more funding and more teachers, we would, but that is not the reality. And after two decades in the job I can honestly say: If you are too soft, they will eat you alive ;) And especially the timid, shy students suffer when the misbehaved ones disrupt the lessons and play power games.
@christian_w.
@christian_w. Жыл бұрын
Feli: "Thank you for this really long conversation." Me: I thought that it just had started. This could go on for another hour. So interesting!
@martinaberger9689
@martinaberger9689 Жыл бұрын
Agree 😀
@deutschmitpurple2918
@deutschmitpurple2918 Жыл бұрын
Great conversation. I have really loved it
@peterl5804
@peterl5804 Жыл бұрын
I was brought up in Germany in the 1970s. We walked 15 minutes to kindergarten with our friends when we were 4.
@roberthernandez2989
@roberthernandez2989 Жыл бұрын
I grew in 70's, in Texas and we all walk to school. its not the same everywhere in the USA. Now I live in germany for 29 yrs and some parents walk their kids at school or drive them to school. Lets not act like all german kids walk to school alone.
@mrHello420__
@mrHello420__ Жыл бұрын
@@roberthernandez2989 Sure but in this conversations its never about "all" more like "most of them".
@mnessenche
@mnessenche Жыл бұрын
I big problem is that in the US cities and suburbs are built around cars solely, making it far more dangerous for children to walk or take the bike to school, additionally, public transportation is not a thing as well. Of course, Germany also has seen a trend in parents driving their children to school, but the infrastructure of cities and villages also still allows for walking or cycling or taking of public transportation by children.
@sabby123456789
@sabby123456789 Жыл бұрын
I remember a high school teacher of mine just telling our class to go out to the basketball court and start playing basketball because all the boys were too rowdy. And it worked. When they came back, everyone was quiet.
@picardythirds
@picardythirds Жыл бұрын
as a teacher - a lot of classroom management issues can be easily solved with smaller class sizes and kids who are ready to learn. sadly, this is often not the case. there is a reason private schools advertise small class sizes. kids develop a better relationship with the teachers when the teacher doesn't feel like they are managing 30 bouncing balls of energy all at once!
@MyMerryMessyGermanLife
@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын
I so agree! Class sizes need to be lowered in both countries.
@retireorbust
@retireorbust 3 ай бұрын
Tuition vouchers ensure the disruptive don't ruin the education experience for those who want to learn. I wish teachers would see what an opportunity that would be. The unions just won't give that idea the time of day.
@lauravalle3766
@lauravalle3766 Жыл бұрын
I live in a small, historic city in Ohio and so I’m thankful my son can still enjoy the freedom he had when he lived in Germany. He walks and bikes everywhere, we have sidewalks, and friends and grandmas watch out for each other’s kids. It’s a lovely and supportive community where many people know one another. I chose this neighborhood in part for this but also because of the higher taxes, which lends to better schools. We are in the top 3 of schools in all of Ohio consistently. I wanted to stay in Germany, but my son has dyslexia and I was concerned about the support he would get there. Additionally, I was nervous about the school dividing at 10 and he being relegated to a lower level of schooling because of his learning disability. Here, he has services in school and will have them through high school and university. It was a hard decision because we love almost everything about Germany. I wish they had more intervention services for those who have learning challenges.
@eyekona
@eyekona 7 ай бұрын
There is, actually. My daughter has adhd and she has a person from "Jugendamt" who helps her in school and accompanies her in school. The system works quite well.
@rkw2917
@rkw2917 Жыл бұрын
As a Canadian kid in the 60's I would take the bus alone to see movies in the theaters at the age of 6 Our house was never locked and we were never burglarized I am retired now after spending most of my working life in Switzerland It is so nice that here young children are perfectly free and safe to go to and from school or to the shops, playgrounds, basically anywhere
@martinaberger9689
@martinaberger9689 Жыл бұрын
Our elementery school is very warm and cosy and they use great methods to encourage the kids and help them with their issues. I'm glad that we have nice and educated teachers. We live in a small village in Baden-Württemberg. Our kids can walk and ride on their bikes in the whole village, visit their friends on their own and so on, like my husband and I used to do that when we were kids. The independence of kids, especially in smaller towns and villages in Germany is great.
@mikeconnell4067
@mikeconnell4067 Жыл бұрын
I stumbled across your channel today and really enjoyed some of your older posts. I moved to usa about 10 years ago and the AC issue cracked me up. Being from New Zealand AC then was not common as we have a temperate climate. However being it Texas in summer I would always carry a fleece! You would go from what seemed like walking on the surface of the sun onto a restaurant and feel like Scott on an Antarctic expedition!
@cfiperry1382
@cfiperry1382 Жыл бұрын
Feli, I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. As a kid, we were all over the place. Our parents had no idea where we were. Watch any John Huges movie. His films literally capture the culture I grew up in. Thanks for the great videos/podcasts.
@jojivlogs_4255
@jojivlogs_4255 Жыл бұрын
willing to bet those suburbs were built prior to ww2. zoning laws of the time facilitated suburb layouts that were far more walkable. only a few suburbs like that still exist today and they're absurdly expensive because of how walkable they are. it drives demand through the roof
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
Kids are raised in an adult world in Germany. We were more independent in the 70s. I was an American living in Germany and at 15 I used to go downtown on the bus alone. I spent my babysitting money on clothes and shoes. I always had to stop and pick up a few things for my mom. I even took the train to Frankfurt to go shopping alone at 16 to spend my summer hire pay checks. We roamed on and off base all the time. Loved it.
@Diva1960
@Diva1960 Жыл бұрын
In Switzerland, kindergarten is compulsory. The children start between 4 and 5 years. They sing, draw, do crafts and play. They learn social behavior and sometimes to sit still. It is a preparation for school enrolment. After a few weeks, they go and go home on their own.
@c8Lorraine1
@c8Lorraine1 Жыл бұрын
Same in Australia
@deutschmitpurple2918
@deutschmitpurple2918 Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for this fantastic conversation ❤️❤️❤️
@jmcosmos
@jmcosmos Жыл бұрын
Speaking of corporal punishment: I was subjected to it multiple times in my small-town Texas school system. If first happened to me in 1963 when I was six(!) years old, and said the word "hell" in my first-year class, not knowing better yet. My teacher sent me straight to the principal's office and he administered three "licks" (smacks) with a wooden paddle. Consider this: a six-year-old child, being beaten for an offense he didn't even know was an offense! Later in Year 9, I was given three licks for flipping off a teacher who was crowding up on me with his school bus as I rode my bicycle. Afterward, my father congratulated me for being punished for that one. I think he believed it showed a healthy lack of respect for arbitrary authority.
@jennifers9389
@jennifers9389 Жыл бұрын
That culture was in the Midwest, as well. I'm so sorry. Way too much trauma has been at the hands of school authoritarians.
@AsterFoz
@AsterFoz Жыл бұрын
Teacher driving a school bus?
@jmcosmos
@jmcosmos Жыл бұрын
@@AsterFoz Yes indeed. In a small rural school system, you sometimes have teachers who double as drivers to have enough to cover all the routes.
@TheAxel65
@TheAxel65 Жыл бұрын
Had a similiar experience in a german catholic elemantary school back in the early seventies with an old catholic priest who was also our teacher for religion. He was citing the Genesis part of the Bible, the part where god creates the sheep, cows, blablabla and finally Man and Women. Me completely into Dinosaurs at that time dared to innocently asked "And what about the dinosaurs??" He freaked completely out, grabbed a lock of my hair, wrapped it around his finger and pulled with a violent jerk - very painful, but leaves no trace of abuse, very clever! Already at the age of 6 I learned very quickly that in terms of "love your neighbor" there was a big discrepancy between theory and reality. As a baptized Catholic, I left the church at the age of 18 and have been a happy atheist ever since.
@lawyer1165
@lawyer1165 Жыл бұрын
As someone who is quite a bit older than your guests, I can tell you that my childhood in Orange County, CA, was quite different from what they were describing as their experience in Georgia. I had a key to our house when I was in elementary school. When I was a senior in high school, I got my driver’s license and a car. Before then, to get to school, I either walked or rode my bike. Sometimes a parent would drive a few kids to the movies on Saturday morning, but we’d usually walk home afterward. I can remember walking 7 to 10 miles to get to my friend’s house after we had spent the day at Disneyland. As a general rule, a parent drove kids around only for longer trips (e.g., to the mountains or the desert).
@gregorywelch1362
@gregorywelch1362 Жыл бұрын
Might be a little younger than you but I grew up in California also but we moved a lot we started in San Gabriel and moved to Covina, Chino, and graduated in Fontana always walked with friends to school or rode bikes if we lived farther out also used to walk to the theater or take our bikes and head to the mall in weekends.
@Traveler-nu8xc
@Traveler-nu8xc Жыл бұрын
Same for me in Upstate NY. We lived in a very rural town. We walked or rode our bikes MILES !
@MissBabalu102
@MissBabalu102 Жыл бұрын
I agree that this is only their very narrow viewpoint. We had a great childhood, riding our bikes, friends, good schools. We have choice.
@razzwilmz7970
@razzwilmz7970 Жыл бұрын
I grew up in the San Francisco/Bay area, in the suburbs actually. We had the freedom to ride our bikes to the store, parks, baseball diamonds, school, movies. My mom was too busy and didn't need to drive us anywhere unless we went on a family outing like camping, visiting relatives etc.
@claudiacombs7629
@claudiacombs7629 Жыл бұрын
Similar to childhood for me growing up in NYC in the 70s. My mother went back to college when I was 6 to get her teaching degree. As an adult, I always joked with my parents that they would be arrested in today's climate for some of the things they let me do by myself! I'm grateful for my hardworking ,dedicated and loving parents.
@aarongreenway7002
@aarongreenway7002 Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Very insightful! I had come across the videos of this family a few months back. They seem very nice!
@pendragon2012
@pendragon2012 Жыл бұрын
Welcome back, Feli! Glad you had a great trip--good to have you back! Thanks for another great video! 🙂Yes, I would love a video about handling first significant others!
@gfsrow
@gfsrow Жыл бұрын
I enjoy your material quite a lot. Very informative! And your facility with language is quite good - excellent! Thank you.
@lesliesheppard6112
@lesliesheppard6112 Жыл бұрын
Loved this conversation. So interesting and now I’m gonna have to follow them too. Welcome back Feli!
@mrleeboston
@mrleeboston Жыл бұрын
So glad you did this and had this great conversation!
@drew9000
@drew9000 Жыл бұрын
This only makes me want to move to Germany even more. As many people here in the comments are pointing out, the US used to be different; the 70s, 80s, and into the 90s it was just how they are describing Germany. It actually makes me kind of sad, my kids are very young and I'm extremely worried about them growing up here
@horstfaigledrummer
@horstfaigledrummer Жыл бұрын
Well, I'm a parent in Germany and I can say that there is definitly a connection between schools and househunting here. I've seen that a lot that when young couples have a child that is about to attend school, they move to a "better" neighbourhood so that the child can attend a "better" school. Problem is, if all the well situated families move away, the social structure at these schools gets more and more difficult. (Hope my english is understandable.)
@klaus2t703
@klaus2t703 Жыл бұрын
Quality content. As always. All nice people, good discussion. Nothing more to say, just thank you.
@marrykurie48
@marrykurie48 Жыл бұрын
Already subscribed to both of your channels since long time. Great video!
@an-an
@an-an Жыл бұрын
Great video. A little more informative then all the other videos here on YT!! You need to do a part 2 of this.
@UnAshamed2010
@UnAshamed2010 Жыл бұрын
This was super interesting. Thanks for sharing! :) 😊
@LeLeCh20
@LeLeCh20 Жыл бұрын
I loved this conversation!!! Thanks !! My whole English book in school is about the US .I learned a lot from this video and it helped improving my English!! Greetings from Germany (BW) too!!!
@thatguy8869
@thatguy8869 Жыл бұрын
About 50 years ago we moved from the US west ("left") coast to the deep south. The first time I said "yeah" instead of "ma'am" to a teacher in the deep south, her head nearly exploded.
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
My daughter went to Elementary school. The German school kept suggesting that she needed to redo every year because she was not emotionally ready for school and wanted to play and not learn. I refused to do that because of pride. The year I moved stateside they were going to have her repeat 3rd grade without my permission. I went to military schools and then dealt with German schools and had a lot of culture shock when my daughter went to American schools.
@andieappster5957
@andieappster5957 Жыл бұрын
My children went to a private bilingual Montessori school until grade 10. The fees were 280€ per month for the first child, 230€ for the second child - and an additional 3€/per lunch. So that's 3360€ + ~540€ per year for the first and 2760€ + ~540€ for the second child = 7200€/year.
@michelvisser3811
@michelvisser3811 Жыл бұрын
Great video Feli i am following them for a long time and just subscrided to one of their sons who created a YT channel again thanks for the video
@martinaberger9689
@martinaberger9689 Жыл бұрын
Great video! I like both of your channels, great contents 👍
@TXM
@TXM Жыл бұрын
I dont have kids but this was really fascinating. Thanks for doing that interview
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
I went to the German American dances in the 70s and 80s. They would announce at 10:00 pm that anybody under the age 16 had to leave but you never had to unless you acted stupid and brought attention to yourself. It was so much fun.
@torinsall
@torinsall Жыл бұрын
My experience growing up was different from theirs...we walked or rode bikes to school (only kids more than a mile away took busses). We were always running around with friends, sometimes in our neighborhood, or in other neighborhoods, or went places to play, fish, go to library or beach or store or movie, up to 3 miles distant. I bicycled 15 miles each way to visit relatives. Both my parents worked but the doors were never locked back then, so no keys needed. Neighbors knew what ALL the kids did and told their parents. We had a lot of freedom as kids.
@87ormore
@87ormore Жыл бұрын
As a non-German mother of primary school kids in Germany I was amused to learn the -- for me then new -- slightly mocking or tongue-in-cheek label of "Turnbeutelvergesser" (gym bag forgetter)!
@TourdionInstrumental
@TourdionInstrumental Жыл бұрын
I always find it interesting when people comment that their kids can walk to school outside the US but not in the US. This couple lived in a suburban house in the US by choice. There are houses and schools that are in cities, or smaller towns that are easier to reach these places. They chose in Germany ti live in a more walkable area, although I’m sure if they lived more rurally there, they would have to drive their kids around. I will say that public transportation in the US is not what it is in Germany. But it’s possible to have a living situation more like Europe if you choose to look for it.
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
My daughter went to an after school program because I was a single mother. They helped her with her homework except on Friday. They expected us to help her during the weekends. My mother ended up doing her homework cause she didn't want to do it.
@joeviolet4185
@joeviolet4185 Жыл бұрын
School district würde ich mit Schulsprengel übersetzen. Das gibt es nur für die Grundschule und die Hauptschule / Werkrealschule, zumindest in Baden-Württemberg. Sobald man eine weiterführende Schule (Realschule oder Gymnasium) besucht, kann man auswählen, welche - was aber nicht unbedingt heißt, dass man überall akzeptiert wird. Besondere Schulen sind auch schnell voll belegt und haben dann keine Kapazität mehr, weitere Schüler aufzunehmen.
@milkoluna9325
@milkoluna9325 Жыл бұрын
I enjoy watching your videos! My family's background is Peruvian, in South America. But I was doing some research and learned that there is a town in Peru, called Pozuzo, where German immigrants settled there in 1859. ☺️
@janfg1578
@janfg1578 Жыл бұрын
I remember my time in the Kindergarten very well. It was private, so my parents had to pay not much, but a little. It was also very new, so the parents did a lot of carpenter work by themselfes to improve things. I got spanked one time by a teenage trainee, but the other adults were really nice with us kids 😂 Preschool Year started at age 5, one year before entering school usually at 6. I remember that by this time we got switched to more organized and skillfull games that prepared us quite well for elementary school.
@muchacho56
@muchacho56 Жыл бұрын
Just thinking about my own upbringing after enjoying this interesting clip. I'm going to be 67 in February, born and raised in Los Angeles smack in the middle of a very busy "urban jungle" (if you're curious, look at the cross-streets of Lincoln and Venice Boulevards). I was 12 years old in 1968, son of very permissive parents, but also as, I suppose, a beneficiary of that era and its near bygones in regards to now lost notions of what neighborhoods were expected to be, and therefore of what norms we could anticipate. Our miles of adjacent streets, each a jumble of cramped houses (ours a bungalow of nine) were full of kids, and I tell you we would run around everywhere sans limits from early morning until sunset, including barely regulated access to each others' open doors and refrigerators. The "big city" as a dangerous place didn't really cast its pall until maybe around mid-seventies. I consider myself lucky to have experienced something that seems to not exist anymore here in the States.
@kerstinklenovsky239
@kerstinklenovsky239 Жыл бұрын
I am very impressed with the insight Kevin and Sara have into the German education system with its strengths and weaknesses. Wow!
@chadodom1693
@chadodom1693 Жыл бұрын
Growing up in Southern California in the 80’s I walked or rode my bike to school. I stayed home by myself from the age of 8. I got a car when I was a sophomore in high school and drove myself to school.
@HaleyMary
@HaleyMary Жыл бұрын
Listening to the parents talk about raising kids sounds so different from the way I grew up in the '90s in small town Canada. I rode my bike or walked to school from the age of 6 on my own. I rode my bike around town on my own when I was around 9 or 10. I was a latchkey kid at age 10 in a small town and also was again once I was in high school in the late '90s and early 2000s. I feel sorry for kids in this day in age if they don't have as much freedom today as kids did in the past.
@orangeguy3314
@orangeguy3314 Жыл бұрын
As a kid in the widwest. He would play basketball, football from early in the morning to late at night. We were on our own. We had large parks everywhere. We had lakes and many friends had boats and we would water ski during the summer months. How many kids in germany are water skiing on lakes in the summer time with friends. Yes, we had cars maybe in our second year in high school or one of our friends did.
@Wintermaus
@Wintermaus Жыл бұрын
@Orangeguy What makes you think we don't have lakes, jet skis and summer in Germany?😂 We do!
@Bob_just_Bob
@Bob_just_Bob Жыл бұрын
For me growing up in the US the nearest store was at least 5 or 6 miles (8-9k) away from my home. I could perhaps get there by bike though. I'd bike to the mall at 11 but it was much safer back then. I now live in the suburbs of Beijing, China and believe it or not it's pretty much the same for me here now. As an American parent who raised a son in China I can tell you it can be very difficult raising a child in a culture different from the one you yourself grew up in Great video as always.
@williamhitchcock6265
@williamhitchcock6265 Жыл бұрын
Thought provoking....I have a granddaughter living in Manhattan (NYC). She gets herselt to school by riding the subway. I have a grandson and granddaughter living in LA (Reseda). They ride their bikes to school. Where population is sparse, there is no infrastructure available to school kids, so you have bussing. When kids live in dense populations, they can get to school without having to be driven by adults. Towns and villages in the northeast are situations similar to those in Europe, so kids can be more independent. I do believe that there is a de facto segregation of financial circumstances in USA which leads to different educational opportunities town to town. Tracking in schools is taboo here, but it happens to a degree from these financial differences. More importantly class size plays a huge role in scholastic success,
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
My daughters school didn't have many substitute teachers. The principal and the teachers that didn't have a class during that time took over the class. Even in Elementary schools they had a home room teacher.
@gweisa899
@gweisa899 Жыл бұрын
I like the parenting method in Germany better seems more independent calm and know how to handle the child behavior without doing corporal punishment as much.
@Balor1
@Balor1 Жыл бұрын
Oktoberfest looks like it has gotten bigger and better than it was when I attended for the 1979-81 seasons. I remember the Loewenbrau tent with its roaring lion, the big krugs of bier, and a giant pretzel on a ribbon around my neck that I gnawed on while drinking my bier. The experience reminded me of a county fair on a grand scale.
@lorrefl7072
@lorrefl7072 Жыл бұрын
In Belgium you can pick whatever school you want to go, but some schools in bigger cities that have a good reputation are difficult to get in because they just don't have enough space for all the kids. In my town of Oostende, a town of 72000 people, it wasn't a problem to go to the school you wanted. From the age 10 I would go anywhere on my own either by bus, bike or on foot... school, go into town shopping, to the movies, to the beach, swimming pool...
@picobello99
@picobello99 Жыл бұрын
Same in the Netherlands. You can choose any school. Private schools aren't really a thing here. Types of school that are considered private in other countries (such as Montessori) are public too (meaning that they get subsidized by the government) and therefore just as free as any other school (apart from fees for school trips and such). It's also not uncommon for kids from the same family to each go to a different school.
@Navyuncle
@Navyuncle Жыл бұрын
I live in a semi rural area in the Midwest. What was said at the beginning of the video is an assumption and not exactly true. As a kid, I would ride my bicycle everywhere. I would take the back roads and ride 7 miles to my sister's house often. I also would bike ride 3 miles to school too.
@Pinkfong2
@Pinkfong2 4 ай бұрын
My children grew up in the suburbs and experienced much the same childhood as I did in the city, which was similar to what they are experiencing now in Germany.
@cocobunitacobuni8738
@cocobunitacobuni8738 Жыл бұрын
Here in Schleswig-Holstein you can also request a different Grundschule than the one the city assigns your child to.
@emrysaki
@emrysaki Жыл бұрын
I live in an Atlanta suburb now and they’re exactly right about having to drive kids everywhere here. There are very few sidewalks or bike lanes, there are a lot of very busy roads, and everything is spread out far from where you live. Closer to the city you don’t need a car as much and I do see more kids out by themselves, but in the suburbs it’s just not possible to go much further than your own neighborhood.
@natashaw401
@natashaw401 Жыл бұрын
So cool fun w surprise for Ben birthday
@ninjafirewolf
@ninjafirewolf Жыл бұрын
I walked to school as a kids and I see Kids walk to and from school everyday live in Illinois
@alexradojkovic9671
@alexradojkovic9671 Жыл бұрын
29:50... I must have gone to a very god fearing high school in Sydney in the late 60s. We were given either 2, 4 or 6 strokes of the cane on our stretched out open palms. Depending on the severity of our infractions. You didn't want to get '6 of the best' or you might end up with blood blisters. It was difficult holding a pen even after just getting 4 strokes. It was a joy going to a Volkschule in Germany as a teenager for a couple of years where they never have heard of corporal punishment.
@brianoyler706
@brianoyler706 10 ай бұрын
@alexradojkovic9671....Volkschule, Realschule or Gymnasium??? Volkschule is definitely not Gymnasium!! I am wondering whether corporal punishment was more prevalent in German schools during the first half of the 20th century. Certainly your experience in Volkschule was post-war or even post-post-war.
@kenardturner7173
@kenardturner7173 Жыл бұрын
I have heard the term latch key kids, for children that are old enough to let themselves in the house with a key when their parents are at work. Another thing that is done is a safe house that children can go to in a neighborhood and stay with trusted friends or neighbors until their parents are home or can pick them up.
@MH-be6hr
@MH-be6hr Жыл бұрын
Hey, that can be dangerous. The man of the house, a teenage son, his friend, another male relative, or even a workman at the house can present a sexual threat to a child or teenager. Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused by her male cousin when she was a child and a teenager. She felt so ashamed and afraid of how her mother would react that she told no one. Her suffering led to her later becoming sexually reckless and using drugs, almost destroying her opportunity at college. The world is a dangerous place. Beware...
@danielruppel5694
@danielruppel5694 Жыл бұрын
This is very interesting i love you're Videos
@faronrich9381
@faronrich9381 11 ай бұрын
I'm an American much older than these parents, and as a child, I lived outside a small town. Independence was part of my childhood. In the summer, I got up, ate breakfast, got on my bike, waved goodbye to my mom, and returned home at lunch. I walked to school in the winter, but today, children in the same neighborhood take a bus. Since I crossed two busy roads and only one had a crossing guard, it probably wasn't safe for a K-2 elementary child to cross those roads. But I learned to make sure I went across with a group of older kids; it was understood that 4th-5th graders were responsible for the younger kids. My children were raised in the same town, and I didn't allow them that much freedom and today, they would allow their children even less. Why? I don't know; it is still a safe town. (I took German in high school because one math teacher minored in German and lived in Germany for a year. It was very unusual for German to be taught in public schools in the 60s, and it isn't taught now, which is a shame. I think Germany is the perfect place for Americans to learn about and live in Europe.)
@jeffreysahaida1111
@jeffreysahaida1111 Жыл бұрын
Growing up in the 60s we had lots of freedom to go places. It was the babyboomer era so we had plenty of kids to play with. We were much more active playing baseball, football and other sports. Parks were close and even schools. The only rule we had as pre schoolers, we had to be close enough for if mom yelled for us to come home, he better be there asap.
@chrisk5651
@chrisk5651 Жыл бұрын
In New York there was the same reaction as in Germany regarding Missouri.
@SharpAssKnittingNeedles
@SharpAssKnittingNeedles Жыл бұрын
I would never in a million years find a video about children entertaining. Leave it up to Feli to find a way to do that 🥳
@highlanderknight
@highlanderknight Жыл бұрын
Very interesting, although I will add that since the USA is so big and varied, raising kids can be very very different even within the same state or county.
@ryanwieckowski3402
@ryanwieckowski3402 Жыл бұрын
I have contention here, I grew up in the Detroit metro area in the 80’s-90’s, sidewalks everywhere, there prospective is from a southern American, there not saying that? We were extremely independent in the north, walking, biking etc. we walked to school, always with friends. These are southern people your talking with, I live in South Carolina now, and the culture is MUCH different from the Midwest, north, west or eastern parts of the US.
@lorainefleeman6011
@lorainefleeman6011 Жыл бұрын
I also was 18 when I got my driver's license. I live in Fargo, ND, and it just isn't necessary here. This was back in 1991. I rode bike, took a bus, etc. It's different in the western part of the state.
@natashaw401
@natashaw401 Жыл бұрын
Awesome making a page the 2 of u
@monicabredenbekkskaar1612
@monicabredenbekkskaar1612 Жыл бұрын
In Norway we do try to secure the playtime as that is how children is learning. If you play out life and feelings you will be happier!
@clarenceleyh8315
@clarenceleyh8315 Жыл бұрын
In the 80’s and 90’s I walked or bicycled to school and anywhere I needed to go. From kindergarten all through high school. I earned my license at sixteen, but still would bicycle or walk. At college I walked everywhere except off campus as well. Anyway, I think it depends a lot on where you live. Secondly, if you only look at corporal punishment from the neigh sayer’s perspective, you will only see the negative affects. There are plenty of studies from the other side that paint a completely different picture. The largest problem is not the punishment itself, it is the who and how it is used.
@Vizeroy9
@Vizeroy9 Жыл бұрын
You don't have to go to the closest primary school in Germany. I went to a school on the other side of the city. The same goes for the Kindergarten.
@sarahmichael270244
@sarahmichael270244 Жыл бұрын
great idea and video! thanx a lot! about beating a child, i have read a scene, what shows everything to say about it. A parent is beating a child and saying during this to the child: "How many times I told you not to solve your problems with violence"
@nathanmeece9794
@nathanmeece9794 Жыл бұрын
When I hear the word gymnasium I think of a building where inside sports are played such as basketball
@zachlawrence5382
@zachlawrence5382 Жыл бұрын
@Feli from Germany _ First off, absolutely love your content for its depth and variety. This channel paired with your collaborations with josh are fantastic and your production value / quality is great. I am a video TD by trade and i just had one totally off subject question, was placing your guests on the left of the 2 Box a conscious decision or just what felt right to your eyes ? The standard is usually the opposite at least in my experience so just curious haha
@BlackStar-gb1dc
@BlackStar-gb1dc Жыл бұрын
I’ve heard people from another schools complaining about the amount of work they did in kindergarten And they wanted to get fun , play in the background just playing and doing another stuff instead of learning maths or another classes. When I was in kindergarten We used to play , the teachers reading books to us Singing songs ( just like in Waldorf German school) That was good good but , that was bad in some way Bcz you don’t have like the sense of responsibility and you don’t know stuff Which you can learn it earlier in the us for example
@JasonJrake
@JasonJrake Жыл бұрын
I’m a very religious American, and it is annoying how resistant Christians are to considering the ethics and consequences of spanking. I’m glad to hear that Europe is not as backwards on this topic.
@natashaw401
@natashaw401 Жыл бұрын
Really like ur shirt Feli
@pigoff123
@pigoff123 4 ай бұрын
Baby Born was a big toy when my daughter was in German elementary school. Being American I could buy an American doll cheaper at the PX so I bought her one. She got mad at me because all her friends had a German doll. I didn't know they were different dolls. They had the same name. I ended up getting a German one too.
@kennethboyd6935
@kennethboyd6935 Жыл бұрын
The trinity in France is onions, celery and carrots. The trinity among the Louisiana French is onions, celery and Bell peppers. The trinity in Bavaria is garlic and parsley.
@edgarwallmeyer6630
@edgarwallmeyer6630 Жыл бұрын
We had an elder neighbor who informed the other neighbors and the police after they noticed that our Terassentür (I don't know the english name) was open while we were still on vacation
@markweidemann4641
@markweidemann4641 Жыл бұрын
Sehr Interessant!!! Wow Feli, you are in Your Mid-20's, such a Broad topic to Cover with a Couple of ex-Pat 30 somethings in Germany... However Great Comparison Contrast 👍 Ich war in Würzburg Geboren und habe auch einen paar Jahre Deutsche Schule mitgemacht, aber bin doch Amerikaner geworden als ich ursprünglich als 3 Jährige nach dem USA eingewandert Habe!
@slithbackle
@slithbackle Жыл бұрын
As someone who was raised in a very Christian fundamentalist home when you talking about spanking I was just thinking about this verse from proverbs. Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. proverbs 13:24 so yeah a correlation between spanking and Christianity makes sense to me.
@kennethboyd6935
@kennethboyd6935 Жыл бұрын
So I was working for Bavarians and they weren't bragging about being Bavarians. So then this extended family of Swabians came to Florida all together on vacation. And they started bragging about being Swabian. They made sure I knew. I didn't mind. It was new to me.
@erictaylor5462
@erictaylor5462 Жыл бұрын
I got myself to school even when I was in kindergarten. But my school, until 2nd grade was only about a block away.
@tammy_music_
@tammy_music_ Жыл бұрын
I think you might have the „wiesn Grippe“ just like almost entire Munich 😂
@FelifromGermany
@FelifromGermany Жыл бұрын
Probably... 😅
@gmailcom-ii2to
@gmailcom-ii2to Жыл бұрын
Feli tell us about the Lantenefest
@CurtisCT
@CurtisCT Жыл бұрын
Interesting video, but I had a difficult time identifying with some of Sara's and Kevin's claims about US schools, or maybe I should say that my experiences were totally different from theirs. My sister and I were completely independent as kids and we would walk or take public transportation everywhere, even to the neighboring state to visit family on our own. My sister walked about 30 minutes with friends to school in the mornings, I took the bus and subway. We got free bus and subway passes as kids from the city, so after school I was always traveling around, exploring different neighborhoods on my own. We grew up in NYC so maybe that played a role, but even our cousins living in the suburbs of NJ or PA were independent as kids, and either walked, biked or drove themselves (when they were old enough). The only time we relied on our parents for taxi service was on long trips (6+ hours) to visit relatives, but growing up in the 80's and 90's I've never seen or heard of kids being so dependent on their parents that they couldn't get around on their own. I suspect that Sara and Kevin might be helicopter parents, but that's just my gut feeling. Regarding those "studies" on corporal punishment, we should be very careful when citing them as "authoritative". Many of these so called "studies" are nothing more than observed correlations, which as we know cannot be used scientifically to establish cause. For example you guys point out some of the long-term psychological effects of corporal punishment as determined by these studies you've examined, such as violence, depression, lack of self-esteem, etc. But these symptoms are just as likely to occur in individuals who never experienced corporal punishment as children. In addition many individuals who did experience corporal punishment as children turned out to be well-adjusted adults who never developed any of these long-term psychological effects.
@arnodobler1096
@arnodobler1096 Жыл бұрын
The channel Not just Bikes makes good videos about it, about urban planning US Canada vs. Europe incl. public transport.
@KiraFriede
@KiraFriede Жыл бұрын
Since they only moved last year, their perspective on school is more of their own children's just 2 or 3 years ago. And nowadays it's very much different than in the 80s and 90s (even in Germany it's much different nowadays than back then)
@rich-ard-style6996
@rich-ard-style6996 Жыл бұрын
Children in USA are very much HELICOPTERED BY PARENTS. Maybe so many bad things happens here.The parents pick up their children even from the bus stop in within their own subdivisions with the car. Your experience in your childhood might have been an exception. And smacking children by any teacher is bad very bad. Also being criticized by the teacher in front of the class is bad and traumatizing. We had a teacher like that in school, he was cruel, such a Nazi he was. He gave almost every child bad a grading except for the best in the class. And he didn't hesitate to say nasty things to the children.
@OpposingPony
@OpposingPony Жыл бұрын
The big difference is urban VS rural, there are little to no sidewalks where I live and no public transportation. It's just not safe from a physical standpoint to have kids walking or riding bikes on the shoulder. Not to mention so many kids are kidnapped all the time.
@brianoyler706
@brianoyler706 10 ай бұрын
Regarding corporal punishment:. I do not know of any adult in 2023 who did not get any type of smack or paddling as a child. Those children who were not getting any type of corrective measures as a child are the ones who have become the 'problem adults'.....
@Ancestral_Amalisa
@Ancestral_Amalisa Жыл бұрын
I grew up in Cincinnati and was paddled by my 2nd grade teacher in the late 70’s for talking.
@eyekona
@eyekona 7 ай бұрын
My daughter is in a montessori school in Germany and we pay about 200€ a month. She is in a class with 40 kids from grades 1-6 and three teachers. And the older kids are actually teaching the younger ones. And it seems to be working fine. Would recommend and send her there again.
@sinnerdinner
@sinnerdinner Жыл бұрын
I'm American and I was independent at around 6 or 7 my parents were real young (18) when I was born. I made friends with older neighborhood kids real easy. I'm up in Cleveland Ohio lake county. Funny I came across the title. Born in 81 when kids could be kids.
@tony5269
@tony5269 Жыл бұрын
Wicked Pissah Cool Video. Growing up Outside of Boston I took the bus to school. I didn’t get my drivers license 🪪 till I was 19 years old I was the only one who got it later than my friends also only one who went to drivers school.
@mattwiland9692
@mattwiland9692 Жыл бұрын
I grew up in Michigan, Tennessee and Colorado, I'm 52, what they (@mymerrymessylife) describe as life in German schools sounds more like what I had in the schools I went to in the US.
@solveighschwefel9962
@solveighschwefel9962 Жыл бұрын
In Berlin it can be quite important where you live for Grundschule.
@aphextwin5712
@aphextwin5712 Жыл бұрын
In Germany teachers are hired and paid by the Bundesland (state) but the school facilities are paid by the municipalities and/or Landkreis (county). Thus the ‘hardware’ can depend on how rich your town is but it won’t vary that much within one town.
@sollte1239
@sollte1239 Жыл бұрын
It does not only depend on money but also whether the headmaster of a school puts effort in the school and whether local politicians find the school important....
@shimone6116
@shimone6116 Жыл бұрын
@@sollte1239 It does depent a lot on money. I wen to a private catholic gymnasium when I was young and here was a and still is quite big difference to the gymnasium that way run by the city. There were no adittional costs for going to the gymnasium, but in regard to money out gymnasium was somewhat better situated. To a small degree to the church givin an adittional smaller amount of money as well as due to our "Förderverein'". A club of parents and alumni giving small amounts so the club could support the school with expupment or help some not as good situated kids when there were schooltrips. The main difference though was how the school was run. I know there are also great non private schools around - especially when there are some exceptional headmasters and teachers who love their job, but in geral i think private run schools are bette organized, With no "Zentralabitur" at the time we did not have better maks (which we always thought unfair), but we were ahead in content way more some additional 30k per year for the entire school could ammount for. To know about what a kind of difference i am speaking of: When I went to university many people had a hard start right from the beginning. In my two main courses during the first one and a half semesters though I had to lean almost nothing, because all the basics they teached there were already covered at school...
@timothyneumann6586
@timothyneumann6586 4 ай бұрын
Learning styles is an important concern. Not all teachers are equally gifted in teaching to each style required by the students. When students and teachers mesh well, there is an extremely good relationship. Otherwise, there is a grating irritation, like the groaning of ice sheets frozen on Lake Huron in the winter. The waves under the ice cause the groaning of the ice.
@juliaclaire42
@juliaclaire42 Жыл бұрын
In Frankfurt ist es sehr schwierig, einen Platz an der Wunschschule zu bekommen. Es müssen in jedem Jahr Kinder quer durch die Stadt, weil es an ihrer wohnortnahen Schule nicht ausreichend Plätze gibt.
@timothyneumann6586
@timothyneumann6586 4 ай бұрын
It's true that sidewalks vary neighborhood to neighborhood. It's a thing that did not exist in unincorporated county parts. Sidewalks often occurred in city proper. That was a thing. unincorporated county places don't have city services and are relying on the county exclusively for their services. It's a tax savings, but it can also have its share of headaches.
@barbaras5550
@barbaras5550 Жыл бұрын
I’m a German living in Portland, Oregon, raising two teenagers. We also did a sabbatical in Germany when the kids were little (3 and 6). I agree that German kids have much more independence. My 6 year old could walk to school, go to the bakery etc. Here, they probably wouldn’t serve a 6-year old in a bakery! I remember some of our US neighbors being confused that we didn’t know where exactly our grade schooler was roaming the neighborhood at any given time. We were worried that someone would call CPS on us! At least, we live in a city that celebrates walking, biking and public transportation. The negatives in Germany with children: there is still a “seen but not heard” mentality and you can get stink eyes when your kids are noisy. I found it interesting, though, that they found German parents so calm. I my experience American parents are more likely to take their kids to the side and talk to them quietly when they do something wrong and German parents are more likely to scold their kids loudly in front of everyone. But maybe that’s the Portland friendly mentality. I also haven’t seen corporal punishment here. Regarding schools: I like the more comprehensive and integrational approach of US schools that teaches kids at their ability level (that includes a much better integration of disabled kids). Teaching is more differentiated than in Germany. But that’s also because US schools traditionally are all day schools with a comprehensive approach and German schools are (used to be) half day schools. I remember my 6-year old wasn’t allowed to read a book during the very basic English lessons even though being bored to tears. In the US it’s normal that kids who are done with their work can sit in a corner and read. In Germany it was seen as a bad example and disruptive! I agree that separating the kids in the different levels of school in 5th grade is a bad idea and in international comparisons German schools get dinged for not supporting social mobility enough. However, the US isn’t better in this regard, it’s the Nordic countries that usually do the best. They don’t separate kids until 10th grade.
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