LIVING IN TAIWAN
Michael A. Turton
I want to come. What should I do? Crime and Safety
What to Bring Health
Finding, Renting, Housing Money
Water Posts and Telecommunications
Transportation Personal Services
Recreation and Travel Learning Chinese
The Social Side Food in Taiwan
Driving in Taiwan Bringing Kids?
Keeping a Pet Living in Taiwan, Returning to America
Email Me Back to Teaching English in Taiwan home page
The outside of the Taichung Harbor Arts Center during an exhibition of dinosaurs from China.
IF YOU HAVE KIDS.......
.... AND ARE COMING TO TAIWAN
Welcome to the brave new world of SARS. Fortunately it has abated in Taiwan....for now. Forward
Due to popular demand, I have prepared a page on bearing and raising children in Taiwan aimed at parents coming to Taiwan with their kids, and assuming that both parents are non-Taiwanese. I have two kids of my own, but my wife is Taiwanese, so our situation is slightly different.

This page on kids in Taiwan is dedicated to my son and daughter.

 

WARNING: It's back: enterovirus, a child killer, is now endemic in Taiwan.  Chances are extremely slim your child will get it, but in 1998 several score children were killed by it.  It recurs every yearn or two now, thanks to poor hygiene, killing five or six children.  Just something else to think about.....wash those hands well!

And don't forget: handwashing also helps prevent SARS. And Bird Flu....too bad it's no good against Mad Cow....



Contents
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents

Taiwan is full of fascinating bugs your kids will love.
Introduction
Taiwan is not a good environment for children, for a wide variety of reasons. Indeed, it is common for Taiwanese to observe that growing up here is hard, and that America is a paradise for children.
Baking, a fun activity for kids in any country.
First, there is a lack of open space, especially in the cities. Developers have been given free rein and consequently have created tyrannical, oppressive, crowded, lightless and airless living environments.  The front of a local elementary school.
There is a shortage of accessible park space, although many small local parks are quite nice and well-equipped with playground equipment, sand pits and pleasing landscaping (the crowding of trees and equipment in parks is a deliberate authoritarian design practice-- parks with no open space cannot be used as assembly points for protests and other political activities. Contrast the claustrophobic, over-landscaped parks of KMT-run Taipei with the open parks of DPP-run I-Lan). My son puzzles over a cage of songbirds at the fortuneteller's booth in a night market.
Park equipment is often not very safe, however. A few places, such as I-lan on the East Coast about three hours from Taipei, have excellent, roomy parks with plenty of open space. Farther south, outside the big cities, there may be no parks at all.  In Taliao (outside Kaohsiung) where we used to live, there are no serious parks, while the adjacent township has only one.  Exploring Reptile World in Tainan County. Taiwan offers many possibilities for small side trips to interesting, fun places for kids.
In recent years the government has been investing heavily in leisure and tourism, resulting in an explosion of new places to take kids.

My son and my father take pictures at Sanyi.

One of Taiwan's oldest tourist traps, Window on China.
Taiwan's cities are dirty, but given their amazing population densities and lack of civic/community sense, they are about as clean as they can be. Hiking with friends on the ridges near Keelung.
The cities are also difficult to get around in if you have small kids. Generally, bus drivers pay no attention to the needs of parents with small children when stopping or starting their vehicles. Sidewalks are crowded, uneven and difficult to push strollers around on. People do not help women with strollers here.
My kids play with fire. We are fortunate in having a large backyard.
Outside of the north, the city bus systems are extremely undeveloped, so your family will need transportation. On  a class trip to the Taipei Zoo in April of 2004.
There are few diaper changing stations anywhere, but some of the major store chains now have them. Change is slowly rolling over Taiwan.

My daughter models a tiny frog she caught near our house.
Playing games at the night market with my son. 
Taiwanese children routinely pee outdoors in public areas and nobody thinks anything of it. This ethic can be a godsend if no bathrooms are available. A kiddie pool in an apartment complex in Taichung. Many newer complexes have such play facilities.
The weather can be a pain. It often rains from January to March in the north, making outdoor trips impossible. I have been here through winters in which it has rained every day for sixty days on end. Kids go insane under those conditions. In the summer the sun can be nasty and burns can occur quickly -- slather those kids with sunscreen and make them wear hats.  The weather is much hotter in the south and it rains much less, but the pollution is appalling. The kids at soccer practice at Morrison Christian Academy in Taichung.
A major issue here for children is security. People advise you to watch your kids like a hawk. Kidnapping and child snatching are commonly held to be a serious problem in Taiwan, though they do not happen often to Westerners. Many of the tales you hear have an urban legendish feel to them.
A local park in northern Taichung. This one is fairly representative.
Another major problem for westerners are Taiwanese child-rearing values. The emphasis in this culture is on authority and control. Social values here are very undemocratic (indeed, whether democracy is compatible with Asian culture is a frequent topic of debate in academic newsgroups and email lists on Asia).  At the ice skating rink in Taichung.
Additionally, there is a strong violent streak in interpersonal relations which kids pick up from a young age. Hitting, kicking, punching and bullying are commonplace in the schools. The kids study a toad they have caught in the woods near our house.
Enjoying a slice of chocolate mousse cake with a good friend at a local restaurant.
Taiwanese parents also do not give their children the rich stimulation that middle-class parents overseas do, particularly with respect to outdoor activities. Taiwanese kids, especially outside of Taipei, do not read books, or play board games, nor are they given 'dirty' things to play with like markers and paper, clay, flour, sandboxes and so forth (because of the lack of things to do, mothers constantly complain that their children are uncontrollable.  In reality, they are just bored.)  Playing on the beach at Kenting.
As with everything else in Taiwan, NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. I can't emphasize enough how important forming connections is. In Taiwan connections are the way things get done. Personal networks may allow you to purchase things cheaply, to hear about good doctors, to find things to do and so forth. My daughter and her class at the local elementary school.
As for US taxes, kids overseas are NOT eligible for the income tax credit for low-income parents if they have been resident overseas for more than half the year. Most everything else is the same, however.  If your income is excluded on Form 2555 (overseas income), you are not eligible for the child tax credit either.  For both Taiwan and US taxes, coming in January is the best time. My kids rewrite history and sink Bismarck with Soviet carriers and American battleships. Most childhood hobby stuff, from models to gas-powered aircraft, is available in Taiwan.
Finally, remember, you will be 12,000 miles from family and friends. You have no support network here and it will take a long time to develop one. There may be no one to take care of the kids when you want to see a movie or go dancing or drinking or shopping or just plain get away from the demands of toddlers. No one will be able to comfort you when you are down or reassure you that you are a good parent when you are feeling stressed and incapable. There may be no one to borrow money from when you need to, no one to take care of one kid when you need to take the other to the doctor, no nice neighbors to park the kids with for an hour while you run errands. 


My daughter makes home-made ice cream at Flying Cow Farm in Miaoli.
Your stress level as a parent is going to go way, way up parenting in Taiwan.
Sheridan catches some rays at the dentist's office after some idiot adult bashed her teeth in at the local wading pool.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
My daughter wrestles our...irish wolfhound? sheepdog?
The owner of an internet cafe shows off her domain. Internet cafes are prime hangouts for the high school and college set. Health
Everything your kids will need is available somewhere in Taiwan, probably even in your neighborhood. The trick is finding it.
Monkeying around in a local park. What to Bring
Go to your local Rite-Aid or Peoples' and get two bottles of kids chewable vitamins. Get some vitamins for yourself as well. They are expensive here. Additionally, I recommend several bottles of children's tylenol (available here in small bottles) and children's sudafed, robutussin, etc. 
Stopping at a highway rest stop for juice, milk, and overpriced food. The wider the selection of cold and cough stuff you bring, the better off you are. Your kids will suffer frequently from colds, especially in the winter, and especially in the south. SARS caused demand for thermometers to skyrocket, so bring an electronic thermometer. A couple of fat tubes of antibiotic ointment will also come in handy. 
My kids ride the train at Leofoo Village, an amusement park near Kuanhsi. If you use cloth diapers, bring a generous supply as the local versions are of very low quality. A child's first-aid kit will be useful too. This New Zealand expat sells quality cloth diapers in Taiwan online.
A park in Taipei. Note the winter clothing. It's colder than you think in Taipei. Taiwan is very developed and most things are widely available. Diapers are easily found. Baby and toddler stuff may be purchased almost anywhere, even in local drugstores, and Toys'R'Us carries a large selection of brand-name Western infant and toddler goods. Bandaids and minor medical stuff are as available as in the US.
At play at Morrison Christian School in Taichung. Vaccinations: a couple of diseases are more prevalent in Taiwan. Vaccination against Japanese Menangitis (er4 ben3 nau3 yen2) should be considered mandatory and may be obtained inexpensively in Taiwan. Check with a pediatrician when you get in.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
My son takes my niece for a ride in a toy car at the local night market.
A killer whale claims two victims during an outing to the Aquarium in Kenting. Finding a Doctor
Finding a good pediatrician is hard anywhere. Use your connections vigorously. If you don't speak Chinese finding a pediatrician in your neighborhood may be difficult, since most English-speaking doctors congregate in the foreign ghetto of Tienmu in Taipei or in the swank Minsheng District. But many doctors speak enough English, especially technical English, to be able to communicate with you. A clear sign that a pediatrician is good is crowding during office hours. A pediatrician who also sees a lot of adults is probably a very good doctor as well.



Zeb grins in the local market.
The hospitals all have pediatric clinics, but the doctors are very much hit-or-miss. Large teaching hospitals will probably offer the best service. We've had completely positive experiences at the China Medical College in Taichung.
My wife waits to go in to see the doctor in a hospital waiting area.  With doctors you may have to insist on a seven-day supply of antibiotics -- they may only want to give out a three-day supply (be prepared to pay). Or, when the problem turns out to be a virus, they may simply discontinue antibiotics before they have run their course.


 


A new generation learns an old favorite.
You will also have to insist that they explain each medication to you, since doctors will not do so of their own intiative.  It's not what's done in the local culture, and they haven't the time.
Zeb and Dan-dan teach their cousins English at a family gathering for the 60th birthday of Second Aunt. Do not purchase any over-the-counter antibiotics. Everyone uses them, and the bugs are all resistant now.
A vendor sells donuts on a Taichung street. A major health lack is the absence of mechanisms for children with special needs, though in the last few years more and more specialists are appearing. Many local expats now report that they can find what they need. Ordinary day care, frequently run by non-professionals, regards such children as "stupid" and will not defend them from abuse by other kids. As an English teacher I see many, many children who should be in early intervention programs of one sort or another, but are simply regarded as "stupid" and shunted aside in a cookie-cutter system which neither cares about them nor provides for them. If you have children with truly serious problems, I would rethink coming to Taiwan.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
Sebastian and Sheridan grab tofu for hot pot in a morning market in January of 2004. That winter was bitterly cold by local standards.

I used to have a section on childbirth at this point. I eliminated it, but retained this letter from a friend:
My name's Catherine, I'm Josh Lawrence's wife, of Taiwan-Teachers fame.  I was just reading through your website, Kids section, and thought you'd like to know that Josh and I, along with another Taiwanese/American couple, found a great doctor in Kaohsiung willing to do homebirths.  His name is Dr. Maw-Sheng Chang (not totally sure of first name), and works out Chang's women's hospital.  He works with a fabulous midwife- both are very low-key people, Josh and I barely noticed them at the birth of our child 2.5 years ago.  We had a homebirth, and it went really really well.  Our friends have had two children using this 'dynamic duo'.  It was surprisingly supportive, despite initial disagreements between myself and Dr. Chang, he ultimately let me decide and, more importantly, let me control the situation.  He charges around $30,000 nt for a homebirth, plus the usual fees for each monthly visit to his hospital.  He has worked a lot with the Dutch expat community in Kaohsiung, through whom I found him. Your kids section is great, so sadly true.....

The dog makes a splash.
Care and Feeding

Unless you can afford to buy imported baby food at astronomical prices, you will have to make your own. Blenders and other equipment are widely available at good prices and vegetables hit the markets fresh every day. Read the page on food located at my site for more information. Formula is comparable in price to the US and widely available. Ingredients will be listed in English in most cases. Locally-made formulas are high in sugar, we have found.

Zeb struggles to master the intricacies of Hanon. Lessons for piano, violin and most other musical instruments are available even in the smallest of neighborhoods. Pianos are only marginally cheaper than in the US. We bought ours dirt cheap from a rebuilder who put together a Japanese keyboard of real ivory, a Korean case, and a German soundboard.
Diapers and wipes are affordable and widely available. Local cloth diapers are hideously bad. We gave up on cloth because the local climate is so wet that diaper rash is more frequent (and painful) and because they often take days to dry in the rainy winter weather in the north. A school bus van waits to pull out. Vans like this are the most common forms of transportation for kindergartens and cram schools. 
Kids clothing is cheap in local night markets and widely available. The quality is often quite excellent, since much of what gets sold in night markets is dumped there by OEM manufacturers who overproduced, or made errors, etc.  My daughter reading in front of the university library. University libraries make great outings for kids.
If you like making your own clothing, cloth can be had cheaply down on Tihua St. in Taipei, where the spice and textile merchants make their home (well worth a site-seeing trip). There is a textile wholesale and retail market there. Retail cloth stores can be found everywhere. Sewing machines are widely available (but a little expensive) and many department stores offer free sewing lessons. Children taking rollerblading lessons at a local school.
Children's utensils, cups, etc may be purchased at most toy stores, Toys'R'Us, drug stores and so forth. Most places sell brand name baby soaps, powders and shampoos. Baby furniture, including cribs, beds and mattresses, is also widely available, especially at Toys'R'Us. The grounds of Donghai University in Taichung. Schools provide open spaces in Taiwan's densely populated cities.
Toys will be a problem. Toys'R'Us is heavily commercialized, sells only tie-in toys, expensive brand names, and little in the way of affordable educational stuff. We seldom shop there; there is hardly a less useful toy place in Taiwan. Local toys are laughable in both conception and production quality, and tend strongly to violent themes. Bring what you need, and search diligently for the occasional treasure that pops up.  Nightmarkets have everything you need.
Convenience stores are everywhere and there is always one when you need it. You can depend on them for 100% juices, snacks and other necessities. Their ubiquity means you don't have to travel with as much stuff, since you can always stop to buy juice, snacks and so forth. McDonald's can be found even in the smaller cities, though very small towns will not have one. The interior of a 7-11 in Kenting National Park. Sushi, tea eggs, fruit juice, cookies, hot dogs -- a mish-mash of the quick foods of East and West.
For some idea of costs, see the section on living Expenses on my money page. We have two kids and spend about $25-30,000 a month not counting rent. In order to save US$1,000 a month, you will probably need more than $70,000 a month in income as parents. Such a figure is well within reach, but it will take time to get up there. You will also need to pay for a visa run for your wife and kids, a minimum of 18,000 or so for three tickets to Hong Kong (see below) every six months, unless they can stay on your permit (check what the law is when you get in). Riding the electric scooter. Children's helmets and other safety equipment are available everywhere.
However, if you have to educate your kids at a private school here, you will need to spend around NT$30K monthly.  That takes a huge bite out of your paycheck!  Consider: with rent at 10K, living expenses at 20K and school at 30K, you would need 60K just to live on the brink here in Taiwan with one kid.  If your spouse also works, it's not a problem. A selection of grilled stuff, great for kids.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
My daughter in Kenting National Park. Beaches and mountains offer plenty of outdoor adventure.
A toyseller occupies a section of a busy three lane street. Legal Status and Adoption

If you are American on both sides, your kids will perfectly legal with the usual visa/work permit.  They will be eligible for health insurance and can attend local schools. Children of one-foreign, one-local families can chose their status as they need.

Heavy with fruit, lychee trees overhang a country road. Many country lanes offer pleasant walks. Adoption is not easy here. Nevertheless, we know people who have successfully adopted. With China throwing up impediments to adoption, American attention has shifted to Taiwan.
My son does homework. We homeschooled him for about six months prior to sending him to Morrison. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we had prepared him much better than the school does. The success of our homeschooling program left us somewhat ambivalent about sending him to a $10K annually private school. The system here grinds slowly, but it does grind, and you will be able to adopt once you have jumped through all the hoops.

Enjoying the equipment in Tungshih Forest Park.
Taiwan's adoption system is geared toward Americans, and non-Americans may be told that they must go through an American adoption agency. Another obstacle people have encountered is the expansion of hate-filled, controlling evangelical Christianity, whose orphanages only adopt to certain kinds of Christians.

My kids learn GPS from an enthusiast.
For private adoptions, which roll along much faster than public ones, you will need to network with doctors. They will know where the babies are, since they are treating their mothers.

Try the Yahoo.com Taiwan Adoption Forum for all your adoption questions.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
Clowning for the camera on a mountain road in Nantou. 
Sheridan looks for new construction technology. Things to Do
The old standby, the fast food restaurant, is a good place to take the kids on a rainy day. Most of them have miniature play areas which are relatively safe and clean. You can sit in the air conditioning, your kids can play and be safe. The drawback is, of course, they eat fast food. There are some Discovery Zone-type places in the cities, and Toys'R'Us and major department stores will have play areas for little kids.
Blowing bubbles on the grassy stretches on Chunghsinghsintsun, the planned town erected for the provincial government in central Taiwan. The Taipei Zoo is wonderful.  Clean, inexpensive and conveniently located at the end of the metro line. A very good outing every couple of months.  The Kaohsiung Zoo is even better -- tough on the animals, but very small and completely shaded.  Perfect for kids.
In the petting Zoo at Leofoo Village. In addition to hosting a theme park with rides, Leofoooffers a small but well-equipped zoo. Most other animal attractions succumbed to the declining economy at the end of the 1990s, but Leofoo Village has small zoo with a good collection of large mammals.
Meandering through the massive fish tanks at the Kenting Aquarium. Although land animals are scarce, there are world-class aquariums in Taipei, Kenting, and Penghu. 
Even the smallest local bakery offers an enticing array of baked goods for kids. Many local parks in Taipei are quite nice, with generous sand pits and challenging playground equipment. The northern suburbs generally have better parks than the southern suburbs, but good parks may be found everywhere. Many children like the park in Taipei west of the domestic airport, since the approach to the airport brings the aircraft right over the park at low altitude.
Zeb contemplates the offerings at a carnival at his sister's school. 
Enjoying milk and donuts on a downtown outing.  There are campgrounds and several famous mountain resorts (La La Shan) easily accessible from Taipei. Often just taking the train and getting off in a small town will result in a pleasant trip to an uncrowded and interesting place.
Going to the Taipei Zoo in 1996. After the economic devastation of the late 1990s, the Taipei Zoo is one of just three or four animal displays on the island. On the other hand, aquariums have become big in recent years. Yangminshan National Park, right outside of Taipei, has plenty of open space for kids to run around in. Another good site is the park on the tip of Hoping Island in Keelung Harbor. Not only is there a small amusement facility, but there are some fascinating eroded rocks for climbing, tidal pools for watching fish and many walkways for exploring. 
Temples are lots of fun for all! Here we are at a temple in the Taipei suburb of Neihu several years ago. This large temple not only offers spectacular views of northern Taipei, but also boasts a small convenience store. Sitting at the top of a large hill, it provided exercise, scenery, and sweets for the end of the walk. There are many such temples in Taiwan. Open spaces may often be found in temples and schools, especially in the park-poor south. Temples are often great places to take kids. There are all sorts of mysterious goings-on and nooks and crannys to run around in. Society is very tolerant of children doing their thing in temples. In Taiwan social and religious functions are not divorced and people standing around chatting, eating or playing with their kids is a common sight in every temple. Many temples are important local gathering areas as well as tourist sites with wonderful views and are used to having small kids around.
My children participate in a political demonstration. The American Club sponsors American-style events -- Fourth of July parties, etc. Check with them to see what is going on and if it is appropriate for little kids.
Playing air hockey outside the Starbucks in Keelung. 
The Northeast coast offers spectacular scenery and interesting history, including gold and precious stone mines, and this copper processing plant left behind by the Japanese. POWs worked here during WWII and lived at the nearby POW camp, whose ruins are still extant. Older kids will have fewer choices. Taiwanese kids watch TV (much more than American kids) or play basketball, but mostly they do homework. The mediocre, high-pressure educational system here robs children of their childhood and does not encourage the development of hobbies, interests, etc. You'll have to network to find out about options for older kids. See the page on Recreation for more ideas.
My wife and daughter ponder a game of Sequence.  If you are a games-playing family, be sure to BRING some. The locals do not play board games and almost no board games are available here. Be sure to bring Risk, a US Monopoly version, a good Scrabble version, Life, and similar games. Don't imagine that "I'll get it later" or "My parents can ship it." Buy it, and bring it with you.

Note that many large internet retailers will not ship games out of the US.
 

 

Picking up some household necessities at the local nightmarket.  High quality playing cards and dice are available everywhere. 
Blowing bubbles in a Taichung Park.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
Schooling and Day Care

Education is problem the biggest problem facing expat couples with children in Taiwan. There just doesn't seem to be any good solution to the problem.

My kids read each other stories they have written. Children's English books are expensive and found only in a few large stores, Caves and Eslite.
School-age children will have to go to some private school. At more than US$1,000 a month, Taipei American School and Morrison Academy cater mostly to children of well-off executives and privileged locals. The Dominican School in Neihu costs about half of that and the education is OK. I also know several Americans with bilingual kids who have kids in the local school system, including us.
At play on Taiwan's magnificent east coast.
Be aware that if you put your kid in the local system, they may get hit by the teachers, especially at one of the larger and more high-pressure schools (in Taipei hitting is almost gone). If your child is hit and you are not comfortable with that, by all means talk directly to the school principal. The local parents may complain as well, so you will not be an anomaly. My son's class prepares for school.
 I have one child in the local system, and had one child at Morrison Christian Academy, the local American missionary school, in Taichung. I am now homeschooling him.
  A concert at Morrison.
Although in general the Taiwanese school system is markedly inferior to the US, the elementary schools are not too bad (the real problems begin in junior high school). One major advantage of Taiwanese schools is the quality of the lunches. With vegetables, fish, rice, and fresh fruit served at every meal, they blow away the ugly brown fried fare of American schools. My daughter celebrates her birthday with her class at the local elementary school. Her teacher, an exceptionally together and intelligent young woman, prevents things from getting out of hand. 






If you feel like being active, local schools are glad to accept a hand. We volunteer at my daughter's school, where my wife tends the library one day a week as a volunteer mother. Here is a field trip to a mushroom farm we accompanied in June of 2005.

My kids enjoy a laugh on a school field trip for my daughter's school.
Zeb and Dan-dan cook up experiments in the backyard. I've never seen a local child be permitted to play with mud like this. 
For preschoolers there are a large number of day-care and preschools in a variety of languages. Many are unlicensed and run by individuals without formal training or credentials. If your kid has any special needs they will not be catered to. And be careful, some day-care places hit the kids, though most do not. Additionally, teachers often will not intervene when kids abuse each other and will often focus their attention mainly on older kids or children of wealthy parents (also true in the schools). My son's preschool class in 1998. Good preschools may be found everywhere. Bad ones too.
During end-of-the-semester periods, teachers will be busy preparing plays and presentations for the older kids to show off to their parents and often younger children will be neglected. 

But don't be too paranoid -- many children of foreigners go to day-care in Taiwan without trouble. Try and find a local place which has been around for a long time.

A little electric car facility at a park in Taichung.
It is not difficult to find nannies. You can also apply for a Filipino maid through the government, but they cost money and you have to demonstrate a need. However, many work illegally. A large percentage of Taiwanese women earn second incomes caring for babies and toddlers during the day. Many middle-class mothers work, frequently from 8 to 8, and caregivers are now one of the major child raising strategies for working mothers. Many grandparents are taking care of children, a strain on both, but it's free to the mother. 

This social phenomenon of caregivers being primary child-raisers may have devastating effects for the next generation, but the government is completely indifferent to the trend.

Where we're planning to take the kids next....
If you are taking care of kids yourself Taiwan has many resources. Toys'R'Us and other toy stores carry high-quality imported toys, safe and educational. Books, posters and videos in English and Chinese are widely and cheaply available. Caves Bookstore has an impressive selection of English children's books. Disney videos can often be had after Disney has yanked them from the market in the States. Some children are educated entirely at home  and home schooling curricula are widely available.  My kids on the glass-bottomed boat in Kenting. Tourist rip-offs like this transcend cultural boundaries. Even the kids were bored.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
Celebrating the loot we collected at the exhibition of artifacts from the Louvre in Taipei in November of 2003.
Washing the car is fun in any country.  Ideas

Kids can make money modeling in Taiwan. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed people are favored in Taiwan and kids with those physical characteristics will be strong favorites for modeling jobs. These can pay well. Just be careful about who you're dealing with. 

My daughter dances at a local school carnival to raise money for the school. Agencies like to impress clients with the number of possible models they can bring into a job, and will call you in to show off your kids even when there is no hope. If they don't pay for transportation, you can end up investing a lot of money with little return. 
At a private swmming pool complex. Such pool complexes are common even in small towns. Music lessons of every kind are widely available in the cities. Yamaha operates a chain of schools which provide instruction in any kind of instrument. Ballet, art, calligraphy and other classes are also widely available.

Child-oriented computer software in English and Chinese is widely and cheaply available.

 

Got flour? Mom and Dan-dan show off the results of eating a favorite local dessert. For specific ideas and questions, visit this forum dedicated to raising foreign kids in Taiwan.
Introduction
Health
What to Bring
Finding a Doctor
Care and Feeding
Legal Status and Adoption
Things to Do
Schooling and Day Care 
Ideas
Contents
I want to come. What should I do? Crime and Safety Recreation and Travel Bringing Kids?
What to Bring Health Learning Chinese Keeping a Pet
Finding, Renting, Housing Money The Social Side Living in Taiwan, Returning to America
Water Posts and Telecommunications Food in Taiwan
Transportation Personal Services Driving in Taiwan Back to Teaching English in Taiwan home page