The sign you see to your left is placed on almost every street and street corner in NYC. For those of you who have never owned a dog (pay attention Mr. Hutchinson) Curbing Your Dog simply means clean up your pet’s “business”. Dog owners who do not complete this task are highly disliked by the bulk of New Yorkers. In particular, those individuals who find “business” on the bottom of their Louboutins or Ferragamo loafers. I can only imagine how disturbed those people might be if they realized they had stepped in human “business.” This leads me to my entry for today. It is small in words but big in definition of my life in China.
Last Friday, while waiting for my ride to pick me up from a little shopping excursion, I had a very bizarre encounter with a mother and child. First, I should mention that the scene of this incident was not an isolated location. It was a very busy street, bustling with people right next to the entrance of a massive bus station. As I waited for the car, I sipped on a diet coke (my first of the day so I was in fake sugar heaven) when out of the corner of my eye I saw a mother rapidly stripping the pants of her 3-4 year old son allowing him to spray pee all over the sidewalk. Naturally, I was a bit grossed out, but I tried to be sympathetic…maybe she is still struggling with the task of potty training him?…maybe he just could not hold it anymore? But then, things got out of hand and the kid began to drop his “business” all over the place. It was all I could do to not lose it right then and there. Can you imagine walking up Madison Avenue to find mothers and nannies allowing their children to use the sidewalk as a toilet? Wouldn’t this be a great story for Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers to use during their “Really?” segment on SNL’s Weekend Update. In fact, “really?” was the only word that came to my mind after the incident.
I suppose the moral of this story is to watch where you step on the sidewalks of Beijing. Also: Curb Your Kid.
REALLY??
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A Blonde in Beijing 
GOOD GODFREY! I was left a bit speechless on this one – I honestly don’t know what I would do…except fight the urge to heave! Your post still made me laugh though. Watch your step! I hope it was an isolated incident.
This is normal in China. Kids are “potty trained” at a much earlier age, though potty training is more “letting mom know you need to go” than necessarily using a toilet. Here’s an interesting article about it:
http://www.svmoms.com/2007/08/the-secret-of-t.html