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.

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.

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.

Grandparents and grandchildren!

The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can be a source to pleasure, affection, understanding and rejuvenation but, as any other family relationship, it needs some care so that one can actually enjoy, grow and learn.

Being a parent X Being a spouse

Maybe you are not the only that think it is impossible to separate the couple's space and the parent's space. The difficulty in defining the functions of father/ mother from those of the couple is one of the causes of family problems.

What's it like to be a parent in a war zone?

What's it like to be a parent in a war zone? Perhaps this is not the first question that comes to your mind when you watch the news about armed conflicts, wars and refugee families. Perhaps this theme raises several feelings and questions in you, but this was one of the doubts that came to mind the psychologist Aala El-Khani.

Betty & Cat: a bilingual book to kids!

As I wrote in others posts, one of the biggest challenges that families with children have is bilingualism. As I mentioned in this post, there are some strategies that you can follow to make this process easier. But to illustrate one of those strategies I am going to share a book that I got to know a few weeks ago and I feel in love with.

How to Talk About Racial Differences with Children!

As I previously mentioned talking with children and teenagers is a skill that can be improved over time. As I wrote in other posts, some parents might be tempted to avoid certain topics as these force the parents to question the right moment, age and situation to discuss them.

I've already written on the blog about some common subjects such as sexuality, jealousy, lying, adoption, disability, money, drugs and Alzheimer. I invite you to take a look at these posts and, if you wish, send me a message with your question, since answering them might helpt others in similar situation. 

Perhaps talking about racial differences can be easy, even common, for your family; for others, not so much. But how can talk about this subject with children?

How to deal with lies!

It comes as no surprise that at some point of your life you have lied to someone. This behavior can be seen more frequently in children, but unfortunately we see it in teenagers and adults. 

To children, lying can be related to desires and fantasy or sometimes used to avoid consequences of any behavior. Young children are used to lie to express desires and what they think, without realizing the bad connotation associated with this act.

Body X mind? Does this still exist?

Unfortunately in our society we value the body over the mind. This is a fact and it is not only up to me change it. But what do we know about maintaining our psychological health? What do we teach our children about emotional hygiene?

Raising children in another culture!

As I wrote in other posts, leaving your home country involves many gains and losses. Most of these will not be so noticeable and it may take you some time to get everything in perspective. 

When a family with children, whether they are small or not, leaves its country of origin, it also affects the pros/cons and new challenges appear.

Take care of yourself!

It's been a while that I'm thinking about caring. I don’t refer to taking care of others, such as a spouse or relatives but taking care of yourself.

We can say that is normal to have some time for yourself, going to the beauty salon, doing nails or hair, buying news clothes... just to feel a little prettier and generally better in some bad days. But is that enough? Does taking care of appearance really make we feel better about ourselves?

Movie Session: A Monster Calls!

If you follow me for a while, you probably know that I love movies, series and documentaries and that I use to recommend some here on the blog. Movies have the same power of books of raising awareness and demystifying certain issues and situations.

The last recommendations here were about the challenges during the adoption process and the paternity, ‘A Martian Child’, and another about how a child perceives the divorce crisis of his parents on the movie ‘What Maisie Knew’.

Be Grateful!

As children grow older and reach cognitive and emotional maturity some values as honesty, self-esteem, gratitude, and justice are more clearly understood. These values can and must be learned since the early stages. Contrary to what you might think this is not done through lecturing or long discussion, but with small conversations, actions and examples set by the parents.

The transmission of values does not happen overnight, but are assimilated by way of example and identification. It’s up to parents to be careful not to require or demand from the child something she has never had contact with.

Paternal figure!

When we think about childhood development and others related subjects, we think about the mother or other maternal figure. The relationship between a child and the maternal figure is fundamental to child's development. But what about the paternal figure, the father, grandfather, and even the uncle? Why do we speak so little about them?

How to talk about Alzheimer's with kids!

When a member of the family becomes ill, and I'll talk particularly about Alzheimer's disease on this posting, the family goes through big changes. Several feelings and questions arise for adults as well for the children. Fearing to make the child suffer or spare it from the worst, parents and/or responsibles can avoid the issue and soften it.

When the child becomes aware of the changes that happen to the ill, mostly the child's grandfather/grandmother, of their strange behavior, loss of their faculties, and progressive deterioration, it is necessary to explain what's going on.

How to deal with children's questions!

I've already written about the importance of dialogue between parents and their children, and communication within the family in general. As simple as it may seem, some people still have doubts about, or hesitate doing it. And there's nothing wrong as long as you're ready to change.

When children are very young, their questions generally turn into talks. To ask and to clarufy doubts is an essential part of the learning process. But not all children feel comfortable to say they didn't understand something or even to satisfy their curiosity, either because of shyness or because the environment at home or at school doesn't make them feel at ease to do so.

How To Deal With Childhood Anxiety!

Childhood anxiety is a topic that has drawn attention from professionals in the field of health and education. To some degree, anxiety is a natural reaction of the human being, and it is useful for adapting and reacting to situations of fear or expectation. It becomes pathological when it reaches too high values with a systematic and generalized character, beginning to interfere with the healthy functioning of the individual's life.

From my point of view, before we approach the subject of anxiety we must go a few steps back. We need to talk and teach kids about patience. We humans aren't born with this ability. We need to learn how to be patient.

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.