Kids from around the world and where they sleep (pics)

Its pretty remarkable to see the differences in living conditions of people from around the world. Kids in poor countries live in conditions that make you wonder how they manage to survive to adulthood while kids in developed countries live in such splendor, we should almost be ashamed at living in such luxury while others are struggling so badly.

Portraits of Children Around the World and Where They Sleep

Where Children Sleep is an eye-opening project by photographer James Mollison that takes a look at children from all across the globe and the diverse environments they go to sleep in. The series presents a portrait of each child or adolescent accompanied by a shot of their bedrooms. While some have a bounty of possessions and a lavish bed to rest their head on at night, the images reveal that some are not as fortunate.

Mollison gives an intimate perspective of these children, offering some sense of their lifestyle through their personal bedroom. At times, though, it can be difficult to even refer to the space they sleep in as a bedroom as there is no actual bed. In the case of Bilal, a 6-year-old Bedouin shepherd boy, the young boy is left to sleep "outdoors with his father's herd of goats." Alternatively, 4-year-old Kaya in Tokyo is adorned in frilly dresses that her mother spends $1,000 on every month, which is reflected in the abundance of toys and luxury items that fill her room.

My Modern Met

Bilal, 6, Wadi Abu Hindi, The West Bank


This kid from Palestine lives in conditions worse than most barn animals. No real walls and exposed to the elements, its no wonder so many grow up to be suicide bombers and terrorists. When you have nothing to lose, blowing yourself up for the cause seems a small price to pay.

Indira, 7, Kathmandu, Nepal


Dirt floors and a thatched roof. It looks pretty primitive but, at least she has a bed with some pretty cozy looking comforters. I'll bet a lot of people around the world lived in homes just like this before the invention of all of our modern conveniences.

Dong, 9, Yunnan, China


Pretty spartan by our standards but, at least he has a bed and chair and a roof and walls to keep out the elements. Of course, no Chinese kid's room would be complete without a cool poster of their version of a rock star; Chairman Mao!

Kana,16, Tokyo, Japan


Here's one from the opposite end of the spectrum showing a pretty well off kid from Japan. Loads of toys and stuffed animals hanging from the walls with a nice sized library of books to boot.

And, last but not least, here's how your average American kid lives:

Joey, 11, Kentucky, USA


Loads of guns and camo everywhere! 'Merica, HECK YEAH!
The Duck Dynasty guys must be proud.
To be fair, they do have other pics of American kids and their rooms so they don't make us all look like gun nuts. Still, it really make it look awesome to be an American.

FortAnthem

Indira, 7, Kathmandu, Nepal

Dirt floors and a thatched roof. It looks pretty primitive but, at least she has a bed with some pretty cozy looking comforters. I'll bet a lot of people around the world lived in homes just like this before the invention of all of our modern conveniences.

Modern conveniences like this?

Joey, 11, Kentucky, USA

I'd rather my kid sleep next to Nepal than Kentucky. Start 'em out young so they don't know what a mental defect is? His parents are probably proud. Go America.

Taupin Desciple

FortAnthem

Indira, 7, Kathmandu, Nepal

Dirt floors and a thatched roof. It looks pretty primitive but, at least she has a bed with some pretty cozy looking comforters. I'll bet a lot of people around the world lived in homes just like this before the invention of all of our modern conveniences.

Modern conveniences like this?

Joey, 11, Kentucky, USA

I'd rather my kid sleep next to Nepal than Kentucky. Start 'em out young so they don't know what a mental defect is? His parents are probably proud. Go America.

May I ask exactly what is your issue with the child's room from that image? Is it the guns that are bothering you?

Threads like this expose the huge disparities in how we as a common species live. We are all the same animal when you get down to it. Why is it we focus on the kid from Tennessee, holding guns, that his father most likely showed him the proper way to shoot. That kid may loom like that but from my experiences with people from those parts, they would do almost anything to help a person in need.

What we need to do is as a species realize that to truly advance as a civilization, we need to care for every humAn exActly the same, no matter where they come from.

/rant off. Sorry everyone

Taupin Desciple


I'd rather my kid sleep next to Nepal than Kentucky. Start 'em out young so they don't know what a mental defect is? His parents are probably proud. Go America.

I can see where you're coming from. I see nothing wrong with kids having hunting rifles at that age but, not keeping them in the bedroom. IMO, they should be kept in a gun safe or at least in their parent's room for safety.

It also makes me wonder how many kids from around the world have to sleep with a loaded AK-47 by their side to protect against marauders? We have it so well in our country, we find it hard to imagine the living conditions in other countries throughout the world.

IMO, they should be kept in a gun safe or at least in their parent's room for safety. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by FortAnthem


They should be kept locked up in a gun safe.

Having them in a parents room doesn't remove the chance of a horrible accident if the kid can just go in and get them whenever his folks aren't home.

Other than that...spot on post OP. Sad and shameful these kids have to live like this.

The picture of that Palestinian child burns me to the core...it looks like a cage for animals. The fact that the US continues to supply Israel with 3 + billion dollars a year in military aid to keep these people in this state disgusts me.

The world is unfair but when children are punished it breaks my heart.........in some countries children are still starving, while in the West children are obese.

I think the pictures do stereotype though: are all boys in the US obsessed with guns? Do all kids in Brazil sleep outdoors on rotten furniture? I don't think so, but I understand that the author wanted to create a reaction by showing how financially unequal the world is.

But can the pictures ignite a change?

reply to post by FortAnthem


Great pics. I'd take the thatched Nepali hut over the others any day.

In any case I think the best and safest place for any child to sleep happily is close to those who love them the most. That is better protection and better comfort than hundreds of dolls or guns.

i expected this kid to have his house tied to bunch of balloons

reply to post by FortAnthem


I'm not sure how to look at this post. One hand it comes across as a guilt tripping campaign from some charity group out to change the world by guilt tripping everyone and pissing off the big companies.
On the other hand it's sad to see that in 2014. The start of commercial space age that people are still sleeping in the dirt. And by the direction we it's only gonna get worse.

Think about what I'm about to say and think how it shapes the world.

The external world shapes the internal world in turn reshaping the external world.

The school system the kid from Kentucky is in needs to keep an eye on that boy.

reply to post by FortAnthem


Can't remember where I heard it(I think it was sampled on a hip hop song) but


"We live in a period where our world has both the resources, The technology and the know-how to end world poverty. But, unfortunately we also live in a point in time When at no other point in history has there been so much suffering"

so OP actually thinks that the average american kid's room?

America. We do not sow

(anyone who gets the reference, your ace. Anyone who doesn't, don't bother)

Bisman
so OP actually thinks that the average american kid's room?

No, I don't believe that is how the average American kid lives, although, I'd bet there are a lot of people around the world who probably do think it is.

Like I said; there are more pics of American kids that don't make us all look like gun nuts but, that pic really stood out to me and I wouldn't doubt that's what the rest of the world thinks of when they picture America.

reply to post by SaturnFX


GOT it.

Ok, that shows how the average child from Kentucky lives, but that is NOT the average American child.
Lets see how a kid the same age from California lives.

This thread = waste of time.

shaneslaughta
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

GOT it.

Clearly.

clever.

reply to post by rangerdanger


It's not a waste of time, it shows the hard ship of the planet. If anything, feel grateful you don't experience the level of poverty right now as those kids do. Because the system in west could make us just like that too.

rangerdanger
Ok, that shows how the average child from Kentucky lives, but that is NOT the average American child.
Lets see how a kid the same age from California lives.

This thread = waste of time.

If you click on the link, they also show pics of kids from other parts of America like New York and Harlan county. I included the Kentucky kid as kind of a joke and because its probably how the rest of the world sees us. Kids in America live in a wide variety of circumstances but, even the poorest American kid is, in most cases, living in luxury compared to the kids in many parts of the world.

magnum1188

May I ask exactly what is your issue with the child's room from that image? Is it the guns that are bothering you?

Yes. Not so much that, but the fact that he's making that part of his personal life public. When you put that picture up alongside of all the other ones, the kid comes across as being kind of a prick, you gotta admit. I know it's unintentional, but still. You say we all need to work together to advance. I agree. That will never happen though as long as you keep breeding the mindset that his parents obviously are. More guns are better....why?.....because more guns are better.

Put in a nutshell, show that kid a picture of an 11 year old kid in the West Bank sleeping with an AK because he has to, and the American kid probably won't know why you're showing him that. He won't see the disparity. He won't see how lucky he's got it so he's going to grow up having no clue as to how to get along with the west bank kid. Not that he has to of course, he's in Kentucky. :rollseyes:

Putting people on the same level is the first step in people getting along on the same level.