I had no idea what time it was as I made my way to the bathroom to the bathroom in the middle of the night for a glass of water. After being dazed for a moment when turning on as bright as the sun lights, I heard a loud “thud.” My heart skipped a beat hearing the sound as I know the whole family was asleep. As I crept down the hallway to investigate, I thought of whether I locked the front door, closed all the windows and what I could do if I confronted an intruder. As I turned the corner in the hallway, I saw a soft glow emitting beneath my son’s door. Relieved that there was no intruder, I entered my son’s room to turn off the light that I probably had forgotten hours earlier when I put him to bed. I found my son sweating (in the winter), staring at his device. Somehow, he had retrieved it from our room and was playing on it at 4 am!
Upon arrival our son was not pleased to learn that there were no devices. Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Hopefully, you have never had an experience like that. However, like most parents today, do you feel your child is spending too much time tethered to their device? It almost seems like a cliché these days to talk about the use of too much technology for children. Parents are beginning to see the real tangible effects of too much device use because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Weight gain, disturbed sleep patterns, lower academic success, and attention problems are rising due to increased device usage among children. Unfortunately, the struggle with gadgets is a common problem that all parents need to face these days. These days children have no trouble getting around software like Screen Time from Apple. One method that has been successful for our child is to have a disconnected vacation in rural Inner-Mongolia while staying with a host family. When our family stayed with a host family, my son could participate in all different kinds of farming activities, learn an appreciation of a farm-to-table meal, and gain cultural insight for rural Inner Mongolia to translate to sensitivity for all cultures that he encounters.
Farming Activities
Joining your host family and participating in farming activities will be a rewarding experience for your family. Your child will be able to experience firsthand the life cycles of both plants and animals. These are just a few of the activities your child could participate in on a farm in Inner Mongolia.
Herding Goats
Your child will build an affinity for goats. Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Almost every household in rural Inner Mongolia has a herd of goats. Caring for their goat herd is very much part of the culture there. Herders have such a strong bond that any slaughtering or meat processing is done in urban areas away from the farms. There is a strong kinship between herders and their herd. Herding goats in the grasslands can help your child understand that bond.
Your child will learn that just like humans, goats need a balanced diet to stay healthy. Although they spend most of their day grazing, it is important to prepare their feed to ensure that they get all the minerals they need to be healthy. A balanced diet is vital for all living things.
Taking the herd of goats out to graze in the grasslands will build responsibility in your child. Caring for the goats requires vigilance, an essential trait for children to develop. Sometimes the younger goats may wander off. Each herd has alpha goats or what the locals refer to as the kings of the herd. Kings can be aggressive to younger male goats, so it is crucial to keep them separated. It is also essential to watch out for a neighbour’s herd and make sure the herds do not get mixed up while in passing.
Working in the garden is not strenuous work and can be fun! Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Working in the Garden
Your child will connect with nature by working in the fields and gardens with your host family. Now that most of us live busy urban lives, it isn’t easy to connect to the food we consume from the supermarket. That appreciation may translate into less food wastage as it did for our son. In addition to the health benefits of getting out into the fresh air and sun, working in a garden is a terrific workout that isn’t over strenuous and can be great fun!
Learning how different food is processed is a fun learning experience. Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Processing Food
There is much effort required to getting the vegetables ready for the table. Corn needs to be milled for flatbread. Fresh dates, a popular local item, need to be sorted and washed. Pulling carrots out of the ground is a skill that children will learn not to split the root from the top. All the work involved in bringing vegetables to the table will give your child a greater appreciation for vegetables. After all their hard work, your child will want to dive in and eat all their vegetables.
Doing daily chores will instill a sense of responsibility for your child. Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Daily Chores
Many daily chores need to be done on a farm, from sweeping dust away from the front door, changing the water for the animals, discarding inedible parts of vegetables to be used for compost. There are many chores to do, and your host family will be more than happy to show your child how to do these chores. These kinds of tasks will help build your child’s respect for the host family and learning responsibility.
Tip #1: Avoid pushing your child into an activity. Choice of activity is essential to getting your child to start taking part in activities on the farm.
Farm to Table Dinners
There will be a sense of pride and ownership when your child sits down for dinner each night as they can be a part of bringing it to the table. Inner Mongolia’s cuisine is not that dissimilar to western cuisine in taste. Since almost all meals are prepared from scratch, the flavours are outstanding and give your family a healthy meal each time. These are just some of the wonderful dishes you can try.
BBQ Mutton Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Fresh BBQ Mutton (烤羊肉)
Mutton is a stable for every almost every meal in Inner Mongolia. It will be unavoidable if staying in Inner Mongolia. The fat from mutton is generally used for frying vegetables or rice. Since the mutton is fresh, it has a bright red colour.
Playing with and caring for the goats all day may make it difficult for your child to eat any mutton. It is an excellent opportunity to have a talk with your child about where meat comes from. Explaining how that consuming meat is part of nature
Fresh local bread. Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Fried Bread (饼)
Making a friend pancake from scratch is a rewarding experience. Learning the process is a transferable skill to making pancakes and other kinds of western cooking that your child can take home.
Braised mutton noodles. Yum! Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Braised Mutton Noodles(焖面)
Nothing in this dish comes from a package. The noodles are created from flour made on the farm. The mutton is cooked in fat from goats. Long green beans are all picked on the farm. Knowing how to make this delicious dish will be an indulgence that you can take home with you. There will be a massive smile on your child’s face as they slurp up a bowl of noodles that they helped to create.
Yummy homemade Baozi (Steamed Buns) Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Steamed Buns (包子)
Steamed buns filled with mutton are an excellent afternoon snack. Steaming the buns gives the meat a tender texture that is packed with a fantastic taste. The ease of making a steam bun makes it a perfect fun activity for your child to partake in.
Cultural Understandings
You may be asking yourself, why would I go to Inner Mongolia when many of these activities I can find at a farm in Canada? Staying in a yurt and sleeping as a family in one room is an exceptional experience that every family should have. A key difference is that staying on a farm in Inner Mongolia will help your child experience a different culture. As a collectivist society, Inner Mongolia will welcome you and your family to be involved in all aspects of the farm. When you homestay with a family, your family will become integrated into the culture of your hosts. Everything done on the farm is done together. Everyone is encouraged not to work alone, whether in the fields or herding goats. Meals are communal affairs where instead of everyone having their plate of food, dishes are shared. Even leisure activities are done together. Sitting in front of the TV is an uncommon sight. Most leisure activities are done together, such as singing or playing games in the fields.
Staying in a yurt is an experienced your family will treasure! Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Tip #3: Start your visit off with a gift for your host family. Items from your home country such as treats, wine, books or even cigarettes will be well appreciated.
Are You Ready for Your Child to Unplug?
Your child will have so much fun, they won’t ask for their device once! Photo by Jeffrey Hanson
Technology is getting more difficult to avoid in our daily lives. For parents, the demands of staying connected for careers are becoming more necessary. For our children, the allure of always on receptive media is too destructive to their attention spans. Heading off to a place where there are no cell towers or internet connections is the perfect place to help your child disconnect from tech. Your child will be so busy on a rural farm in Inner Mongolia that they will not even notice their devices were left behind.
You can book your first homestay here! http://www.chinaculturecenter.org/tour/detail/105/
