By Savannakhet Secondary School, Savannakhet

Anong Nith Volasouk

My family consists of 5 people : my father, my mother, my younger sister, my grandfather and me. My father’s job is driver of tuk tuk. My mother’s job is seller of water at the market. My younger sister and I study at school. In Laos, people usually have many babies because people in Laos don’t know how to control birth. People usually get up at 4 or 5 o’clock. People usually get married at 21 years old. Laos’s people choose their husband and wives. In Laos, it is different from France because just after getting married, Laos’s people have a baby. Lao people at 60 year old stop working. Man is head of the family. In Laos, woman after giving birth must fast because it is tradition. For the mother’s fist baby, she fasts after childbirth for 15 days to 1 month. For all the other babies, she fasts for 7 to 15 days. Marriage in Laos is different from foreign countries because man must ask for the hand of a woman. Women wear silk shirts and silk Lao skirt and they roll up the hair. Men wear shirt and pants. Usually men must live in the woman’s house. In the past, our houses were made of wood. People live normally : they fish, plant vegetables and grow rice for eating and to sell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vilayvanh Phoutavong
Linda Tanvongphup
Pissamai Patoomphan

Vilayvanh : In my family, I have 7 persons : my parents, my grandmother, one brother, two sisters and me. My mother’s name is Doughnaly, my father’s name is Kamphai, my younger sister’s name is Nanthida, my sister’s name is Pany and my grandmother’s name is Khaisy.
Linda : In my family, I have 7 persons : my parents, two older brothers, two younger brothers and me.
Pissamai : In my family, I have 6 persons : my parents, one brother, one younger brother, one younger sister and me. My father’s name is Sombat, my mother’s name is Amphone, my brother’s name is Keng, my young brother’s name is Deng and my young sister’s name is Pao.
When I get married, my boyfriend will stay in my house. In Laos, people get married between twenty-one and twenty-five.
Role of the father : he works hard in the rice fields.
Role of the mother : she cooks, she cleans the house, she makes cloths.
Role of the grandfather and the grandmother : she and he take care of the children.
Children : Children go to school at six years old.
Role of me : I help my parents clean my house and cook. Boys water the vegetables.

Nang Phouvilay Phimvongsa
Nang Amphaphone Volathamnieme
Nang Niphonh Phongsamouth

First, I would like to present you a Lao family. Most of families have 5-7 persons and there are more young people than adults. Daughters are getting married after 19 years old. After the marriage, they either move to their husband’s house or stay with their parents. The government of Laos do not limit families and children like in China, Vietnam, etc. … however the government do not give money to each family. Each Laotian woman has 3-5 children, they like having girls better than boys.
In many families, men go to work outside to earn money and feed their family and women stay at home to raise the children, there are less women who work outside. In fact, young Laotians obey to their parents, ask them questions and discuss about many things with their parents, but certain families do not have time to give advice and do not discuss with their children and they become bad persons, for example they drink beer, alcohol, smoke tobacco etc. ... then parents must spend time with their children, advise them, discuss of everything with them so that they are good people for parents and the society. During free time, parents like to take their children for activities, walks and picnics in the forest. All of this is today’s families.
In the past, families were poor because there were no modern ways and teaching to help people controlling the size of their family. Excess of children and malnutrition were the consequences and money savings were not enough to raise all the children. But there are lots of reasons to push parents to have many children for example : to help the parents in the fields, for the food, anyway, children are perseverant and when the whole family works together, there is more fun. Women tissent silk and cotton material when men hunt, fish in order to sell things at the market and earn money thanks to business. Even if there was little education, parents did not forget to teach their kids, kiss them so that they are good kids. Men had more right to do all these things than women, although certain women could decide by themselves about things, like men.
Before their children’ growth, mothers were raising their children very simply, they left them in the middle of the village. To raise them like this had advantages for example : the mother was not tired to prepare meals, etc. ... the disadvantage was that children were catching diseases. Laotian women at that time were getting married at the age of 15 years old that is why women did not have any project and now women programs to have fewer children.
In conclusion, in Laos or in other countries, we can see that family is very important. When we do work together, we find out that leaving with our parents is good. When we leave alone, if there is a problem with school or something else that cannot improve, parents are always there to give us advice.
Next time, we will have the opportunity to tell about the history in Laos. Bye bye ! We like all the readers.