Children seem both more adult and more playful than their counterparts in the United States. I think more adult because of instances where transportation means that that it is more efficient to send a young son to get his own hair cut.
At the same time, today I witnessed a boy (at least twelve years old) see a teeter-totter and immediately hop on to play. Despite my smile, he continued to try to figure out how he was going to play solitaire with the contraption. It seems to me that most twelve-year-olds in the US are much more self conscious and sheltered than what I have observed here so far.
shewhodaresnothing 