We are the family of three. My name is Walter, 51, I am a teacher of English in the prison (it is a sort of social rehabilitation activity) and Portuguese language in the primary school. The name of my wife is Erivane, 43, she is also a teacher. We have a daughter who is 6. Her name is Maria Eduarda 6. We live in Foz do Iguaçu, one of the most beautiful places around the world. The land of the falls, the Itaipu Dam, the triplice border, Brazil, Paraguay and Argetina. I like to bike, to walk.
What kind of toys does Maria Eduarda like to play with?
When Mary is inside home she prefers to play with the dolls, she likes to play cooking on her small stove. While outside she likes to go to the play ground and prefer the slide, swings and bike. She likes a lot to play with a small dog.
What are the local snacks for kids?
Almost all the families here in Brazil give to the kids fruits or juices (bananas, papayas, melons, oranges, apples, plums). Sometimes they give biscuits, cakes and cheese bread. Cheese bread is very famous in Brazil. In the summer when is very hot, kids eat ice-cream.
What are the roles of parents in your country? What duties do belong to mother and to father?
In the past until 50`s or 60`s only women took care of the children were. The men went out to work and kids stayed with moms. Nowadays it is changing a lot, in many families both can help the kids. Of course, depending on the families, but usually the mother has bigger role in children’s lives as she needs to feed them, to give them the bath and change the diapers, etc.
Can you explain how maternity leave works in Brazil? How long is it? Can you get back to work after it without any obstacles?
Pregnant women have 4 months after giving a birth. They can stop working one month before giving the birth if they want. If they decide to work until the last day of the pregnancy it is possible too. When they get back to work they can use one hour of their working time for feeding babies for maximum 3 months.
Does the country help families with kids?
The government offers to everyone kindergarten until 6 years old. Parents have to go out to work and in the day care center the children can stay safe. In the big cities is not so easy to get a place, because there are many children and sometimes parents have to wait long time to enroll the kids. If the city is very big parents have to wait 6-8 months or more. And sometimes it is not possible to enroll the children in the current year, and leave the kids with relatives, (grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunts). In that case, parents have to try again in the next year. All the women (families) have the same rights when applying for a place in the kindergarten. If the families have better conditions, they can afford to enroll the kids in the private daycare.
Do you vaccinate your children? If so, against what? Is it mandatory to vaccinate kids?
Yes. I do. It’s mandatory, government offers the vaccination to all the children until 5 years old. We have the specific day to do it. The vaccine is against Infantile paralysis, measles, polio, influenza, tetanus.
Is it safe to travel with a child Brazil? What to watch out for? Do you think Brazil is friendly for families with kids?
All over the world people think that travelling around South America (Brazil) is very dangerous. In the big cities, there is much poverty. There are big neighborhoods, called favelas (slums). I live in Brazil and in my opinion it’s not so dangerous. I don’t see a lot of problems. Of course, it’s necessary to take care of the kids but no need to be afraid. There are some advantages, like there´s no terrorism, no war, all the people live in harmony. In my city Foz do Iguaçu, there are more than 70 ethnic groups and everyone respects each other. People are very friendly, if you need some information you can enter a store, pub, restaurants and the staff is going to help you.
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