Parenting taboos!

Talking about sexuality, drugs, physical and psychological violence, gender and death are still taboos in our society. However these subjects are progressively being treated with more respect and freedom.

My son does not know how to lose!

Everyone likes to win, be it a football match or a race. When we are young winning is a necessity. Every interaction with parents or friends becomes a competitive environment and winning is the priority.

The jealousy of the children towards the couple!

The jealousy of the children towards the couple is more common than you think. You've probably witnessed some scene in your family and even found it funny or worried about the issue.

Live among other cultures!

One of the great blessings and challenges of leaving our country of origin is living with people from different cultures. However, this is not an easy task for anyone; requires patience and the ability of knowing how to respect the habits and characteristics of other people.

The mask you live in!

Have you noticed how difficult it is for boys to express themselves and talk about what they are feeling? And how dangerous it is for those who do, because they are soon the object of criticism and jokes. Regardless of the culture we are in, boys have never been given the freedom and the possibility to speak and feel what is happening to them.

Talking about stepfathers and stepmothers!

I believe the role of stepparents is one of the most delicate in the family! Those roles are no longer seen as taboo and currently are more frequent than we imagine.

Bilingual children and the value of languages!

As I wrote in the post "raising children in another culture," raising children in another culture involves many changes and challenges for both parents and children. A frequent concern of parents is bilingualism, but not only about possible language difficulties with the use of two languages, but how to make the child or even the teenager value this new language and realize the benefits that this new language brings and the cultures it gives access to.

World Play Week!

Altough I don't live no longer in Brazil, I keep track of events related to infancy and I'm happy with initiatives like this one. The "World Play Week" began yesterday and will end on May 28th, and it's a week of mobilization encouraged by the Aliança pela Infância no Brasil (Alliance for Childhood in Brazil) and by the partner counties.

Educational cartoons, what's behind them?!

Did you ever stop and think about why cartoons are how they are and what they teach us? Cartoons appeared at the end of the 19th. century and since then have gone through big changes. In the early days the were colorless and whitout sound, today it's an explosion of colors and yelling. Every cartoon had a message related to the social and political structure of its time. 

Then came the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's with cartoons which portrayed the family's everyday problems, regardless how weird. Some examples are Felix The Cat, Mickey, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry .

Communication between parents and kids!

As children grow up they are faced with new challenges and learnings, and so are their parents. That's when communication within the family undergoes transformations. The way we communicate with each other is a powerful tool for the relationship during their growth and also of the family's. 

Each phase of their growth involves obstacles and peculiar conflicts. As I've already mentioned in an earlier posting, during a certain phase of their growth children will ask and be curious about sex and about the human body, and new dialogues will appear based on this. So parents, as well as the family, must be willing and aware of new conversations and interactions that will eventually come up.

Games around the world!

Playing is fundamental during infancy because it's one of the expressive languages of the human being. It provides communication, discovery of the world, socialization and integral development.

According to Adriana Friedmann, "playing" is made of various elements: a structure (beginning, middle and end), means (how to play), purpose (why play), content (playing themes), rules, space, time, toys, partners and a ludic behaviour (actions and reactions of those who play). Historically, man always has played, but over time, the ways of playing, spaces and times to play, the playing objects and the players gradually transformed.