# The neighbor's parenting drives my wife crazy

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neighbors-parenting-drives-my-wife-crazy/625060>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 13, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neighbors-parenting-drives-my-wife-crazy/625060 "2012-06-13T20:22:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neighbors-parenting-drives-my-wife-crazy/625060/81 "2012-06-21T03:01:03Z")

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> [@gunnergoz](#):
>
> Many Americans simply cannot fathom that other societies can be entirely unlike their own, in values and in behavior. When they do concede this, it is usually with a dismissive comment, like here.

I’m not American, but I am smart enough to know a country of tens of millions of people has a lot of bad parents, and anyone who says otherwise is just being silly.

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**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neighbors-parenting-drives-my-wife-crazy/625060/82 "2012-06-21T03:06:23Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> The lactose intolerance due to age thing doesn’t usually appear that young, though.
> 
> **Nava** , lactose intolerant.

But you can be born lactose intolerant.

**Alice** , mother of a lactose intolerant infant (now child).

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**Author:** ![gunnergoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gunnergoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunnergoz)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neighbors-parenting-drives-my-wife-crazy/625060/83 "2012-06-21T03:13:07Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> I’m not American, but I am smart enough to know a country of tens of millions of people has a lot of bad parents, and anyone who says otherwise is just being silly.

I never claimed all parents in Ukraine were like my wife and would never say as much; but I do maintain that, from personal observations, parenting is more consistent and intensive in Ukraine. This is likely due to the fact that Ukrainian culture and values go back a thousand years or more. Not even Communism could eradicate traditional elements in that society, such as child rearing practices and belief in God.

There are such things as norms in a traditional culture and Ukrainian culture is much more homogenous than is the hodgepodge culture we have in the USA; one can actually see and define a norm in Ukraine, whereas in the USA there is way too much diversity and individuality. I think that comments such as your own, that constantly pound on the “its all individual” drum, reflect this aspect of Western culture.

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