Here are a few fun facts about children from across the world. I bet you never knew…
Austria was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s native country. Mozart, as a child, did not learn to walk until age 3 but at age 4 was able to reproduce on the piano a melody played for him.
Brazil: 99% of the Brazilian population speaks Portuguese.
China’s population is growing at such a rapid rate that the government issued a “one-child policy” restricting married, urban couples to limit themselves to one offspring. There are exceptions that exist for those living in rural areas and for parents who did not have siblings themselves.
Denmark: Parents must pick from a list of 7,000 pre-approved baby names, some for girls, some for boys. In order to name a child something that is not on the list, parents must get special permission from their local church.
Ethiopia: Traditionally, parents and children do not share the same last name. Most kids take their father’s first name as their last name.
France: You might have learned French at a very young age and have had no idea. Remember the children’s song, Frere Jacques? Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Morning bells are ringing. Morning bells are ringing. Ding dong ding. Ding dong ding.
Germany: A New Jersey couple has given their three children Nazi-inspired names. The children have been named: Adolf Hitler, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, and Honszlynn Hinler. Adolf is not on the list of top 5 boy names in Germany and has not been in the course of 40-years. Jungen is the most popular boy name and means “young one.”
Hungarian children do not hang a stocking up to be filled with goodies during the holidays. Instead, the children get their best boot, polish it, and put it on the windowsill for Mikolas to fill with candy.
India has a population of over 1 billion and is home to 400 million children. The largest number of any country in the world!
Japanese children are given one name and surname to make sure that all names can be easily read and written by the Japanese themselves.
Kazakhstan: As many people in Kazakhstan speak Russian as Kazak; Kazakhstan is the official state language but Russian is the ‘language of the inter-ethnic’ communication.
Lithuania: When a child loses a tooth, it is kept as a keepsake.
Mongolia: The first big celebration for a Mongolian child is their first haircut, usually between the ages of three and five. Birthday parties just became popular in Mongolia. In the old times they were not celebrated.
Norway: Childhood lasts longer than it does in many European countries, with adolescence not ending before graduation from high school.
Oman: The student body comprises of native Arabic speakers but the official language of academic instruction is English.
Pakistan: The official national sport of Pakistan is field hockey.
Qatar: Islam is the predominant religion. According to the 2004 census, 77.5% of the population is Muslim, 8.5% are Christian and 14% are “Other.”
Russia: Middle names are patronymic or a version of the father’s first name formed by adding ‘- vich’ or ‘-ovich’ for a male and ‘-avna’ or ‘- ovna’ for a female.
Spain: The most popular sport amongst kids in Spain is football, not to be confused with American football. Football in Spain is America’s equivalent to soccer.
Thailand: Children’s Day in Thailand falls on the second Saturday in January every year. Children are considered the most valuable resource of the country.
United States: English is spoken by 82% of the population while Spanish is spoken by 12% of the population.
Venezuela’s Infant mortality stands at 16 deaths per 1,000 births which is lower than the South American average.
Yemen is twice the size of the state of Wyoming and has over 10 million children residing within.
Zimbabwe baby names are very unique. Some of the most popular girls names are Dakarai,
