““Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.””
While only about 10% of Indonesians agree with this quote from Jesus in Matthew 19:14, the other 90% still have a culture of valuing families and children. In a previous post I have touched on how much Indonesians love children and eight months later I am still amazed by their love of children.
The culture’s value of family is demonstrated in many ways throughout daily life. The simplest is that adults of all ages, both males and females, cannot seem to walk by a small child without trying to get a smile out of them. While our children get a little extra attention because we’re foreigners, most small children get positive attention whether they are foreigner or native.
It is also seen in the malls here. There is at least one play area for children in each mall here in town. Some malls have up to three. The play areas do cost money, so there is financial gain for the malls to have these, but when we walk past them we see parents or grandparents playing with children in them. They are one more place that the family can bond.
In addition to play areas in malls where a family might elect to go, there are also play areas in many government offices. We have seen play areas in two different immigration offices. This shows that the government knows waiting in an office is not fun for children and so they try to create a space that is fun for the children. If they will spend time and money on creating a space for children then they must value them.
Caroline is almost 5 months old and she’s been on 4 plane trips already. This shows how much we travel and go through airports and immigration. Every airport we have visited has a play area for children and family restrooms, complete with small toilets for small children. There are also special lines for families with young children to get through immigration. At the Medan airport there is literally a red carpet for this line. I always feel like royalty walking down it (except for the fussing baby I’m usually carrying).
I’m very happy to be raising our girls in such a family friendly culture. I want them to grow up to value children and families, just as God does. He calls himself our Father and us children of God. I can’t think of a better example that shows the value of being a part of a family than that.