Raising kids the local way in Belize

@Cheryl Our son is only five years old (COVID baby), but here are some thoughts.

What has surprised you most about raising kids in Belize?

We live in Caye Caulker, and the education is shockingly poor. It's not uncommon for a kid to be 7 years old and not be able to read at all. The best pre-schools only do minimal reading prep. That will absolutely floor you when you reach here.

At the high school level, the learning gaps are equally dramatic. Imagine never even getting a taste of trigonometry, economics, or complex physics. It's odd.

(The education is far better on the mainland, or at least so I've heard and observed from our Belizean friends.)

On the positive side, your young kids are incredibly safe here in Belize. They get welcomed into the community and people will look out for them. If you're naive enough to send them to the store on their own, they'll still come back in one piece, FWIW.

But keep in mind that pedophilia still exists here, and many violators don't get reported. There's a big focus on it and fear around it in the States, and that awareness doesn't exist here in Belize. So you wouldn't wanna let your kid spend the night with a local friend who lets their random, drunk uncle visit. Sorry, just keepin it real.

How would you describe the local daily routine for kids?

If you send your kid to a local school, they go to school, come home for lunch, then go back. I would never, ever let our child hang out after school with the other kids because they get into all kinds of foolishness. But there's a time frame after school and before the parents get home when the kids kind of mill around and gravitate towards their favorite chill spots, such as the football (soccer) field. It's actually really cool and quaint, but I just don't wanna risk our child getting into any funky situations.

There are also after-school activities, like sports, that kids get into.

Have you adopted local habits, or do you mix them with your own culture?

My wife and I have adapted many local habits. There are too many to count. We live here like locals, we learned to speak Kriol, and we speak it all the time. We go to the beach like locals and spend a decent amount of time outside by the sea like our local neighbors.

As far as raising our child, however, we definitely go against the local grain. As mentioned, once he's old enough, there's no way he's hanging out with the kids as they roam the streets and look for trouble. As you probably heard, a nice young man was murdered by a policeman recently, and another was killed by a cop about 12 years ago. The locals are far more friendly and caring than law enforcement, so if your kid ends up with the wrong crowd doing the wrong thing, anything can happen. They don't really have forensic investigation or try to solve serious crime in Belize, so the cops can do whatever they want with impunity. Not gonna expose my kid to that.

How do your kids navigate growing up between cultures? Do they feel local, expat, or both?

Our child feels like a local. He doesn't know that he's not "truly" Belizean. He feels Caye Caulker is his home, and a visit to the States feels like a vacation to a foreign place. That being said, as he gets older, he's going to feel more like a hybrid. His education is different, and he speaks English fluently (as well as some Kriol) so he won't "blend" as easily as some kids. But that's OK. We want him to feel comfortable being different, no matter where he is.

Do you face any challenges, or want to share any funny moments, or cultural misunderstandings?

Very few challenges. Belizean people are generally superior when it comes to being neighborly and friendly. They are also superior to other cultures when it comes to humility and reasonableness, for the most part. These characteristics eliminate many common social challenges.

There are too many funny moments to count, tbh lol.

Share your story, your tips, or your doubts to help expat parents and soon-to-be parents in raising kids in Belize, the local way.

1. Let your child be friendly with everyone, even those who are drunk or high much of the time.
2. Never let them randomly hang out with local kids outside of school. It's not worth the risk. The cops may not protect them.
3. Augment their education with explicit reading and mathematics instruction. If they have a desire to be a professional, such as an engineer, architect, doctor, nurse, lawyer, etc, realize that you'll have to supplement their education to help them get there.
4. I'd honestly recommend raising a kid here in Belize over raising them in a more developed country. They can get their American/Canadian/European cultural sensitivities from you, and they will naturally learn to get along with people of Caribbean, Spanish, and Mayan decent just by virtue of growing up around them. They may also have an easier path to being bilingual. There are many benefits. Just keep your child close to your chest, and things will be awesome.