The parent/child relationship is built from the very beginning and cannot be taken for granted.
It is built over time, with complicity, playfulness, hugs, positive reinforcement, encouragement, and so much more. Recent research reveals the urgent need to promote well-being, positive mood, and quality time spent with children as factors that influence self-esteem and personal satisfaction in the child’s future life.
These are values that are often neglected or relegated to the background, given the daily tribulations of parents, or perhaps because their impact is not so visible. Our society needs to question the harmful educational practices towards children that are still part of its traditions and attitudes.
What if the children themselves tell us that this makes them happy? Caminhos da Infância is releasing this series of short films featuring testimonials from real people. It doesn’t take much to have happy children around us.
Book launch: “What makes us grow?”
June 2018 | Book Fair
Each family will have its own unique characteristics. Here, the kids suggested playing “monster catches everyone,” and we joined in!
A hug, a look, a smile, holding hands can be as cozy as a blanket in winter. But there are certainly many more. Sometimes it’s “good luck on the test,” “I missed you so much,” “I wouldn’t trade my life for anything”… Parents are home, and therefore, they are both departure and arrival.
The routine that each family designs, because it is predictable, gives the child a sense of control over their own life and, therefore, a security that can be a determining factor in their self-esteem and satisfaction, in the present and in the future. Having your father or mother, just for you, at the end of the day telling a story, already wrapped in your sheets, is worth many “I love you’s”.
Giving a child responsibilities according to their maturity level, and promoting the sharing of household chores from an early age, are small steps that foster a child’s autonomy. Learning by doing (and it doesn’t matter if it’s with mom or dad!) is a great way to grow and creates memories that last a lifetime.
