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Parenting in Brazil

Last activity 19 May 2018 by Ron Pinto

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Priscilla

Hello everyone,

Being a parent can be challenging, and even more so when moving abroad, but it can also be an enriching experience. Tell us more below about your role as a parent in Brazil.

How are you experiencing your parental role in your new home? Has your move abroad changed anything in your parental perspective or approach?

On a professional level, have you been able to balance your family life and career? How so? Tell us about the benefits that parents can enjoy in Brazil, such as maternity leave, etc.?

How do you deal with being a parent as an expat, without the support of your extended family in the country?

Do you have any advice on how to introduce the culture in your new country to your children, while maintaining the traditions and customs of your home country?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

jland912

We have no children here so I cannot comment on it.

Jim

Ron Pinto

When we moved from California to Riviera de São Lourenço in São Paulo, an affluent beach resort, I thought that I had my family safe and was able to go on my business trips without concern.  I had my children enrolled in a private school in Bertioga, a few miles away, and all was fine...until Summer came along.
My older kids, teenagers, started going to those evening beach parties where, as I found out, booze and weed were abundant and they were lead there by some of their school mates.  My strategy changed.  I enrolled them in an American academy and had them home schooled, I had their study set up with a big world map, a big US map and the US flag, and my wife became their "teacher" (more of a facilitator). 
They learned Portuguese but never forgot English.  We were here for about 3 years and I felt relieved when they were back in California.

archlab

We generally bring our 6yr old up in the USA, but when in Brazil for extended durations, we have had our son in local pre-schools.  Some are terrible & you have to monitor closely.  Others, however, have their classes on real-time video which you can access via smartphone/device.  That still doesn't stop issues or in one instance, a minor bit of abuse (didn't get 'major' because we pulled our son out & had the school address their personnel issues, subsequently).

We found one great pre-school later & all went well.  As for Grade School, we're keeping our son in school in the US.  We really can't afford the level of Private Education that we would consider equal or better in Brazil. 

If we did, however, send our son to school in Brazil, it would be for short periods in my wife's small, Gaucha, farm-town.  I think that down in the South, the work ethic is generally better from what I hear.  And her small town is pretty close and caring.  Still, we would keep a close eye & a tight reign on his education.  Also, the crowd that he would run with.

Another option...& I really don't like this concept for being in the USA (there is too much infrastructure & GOOD schooling in the USA to do it here), but for short stints in Brazil, it might work would be to provide him Home Schooling like Ron Pinto mentioned above.

nasir_acc80

Hi,
Ahhhhhh.....
Nice but tough, well I moved in floripa in 2016 with 3 teens. I thought it would be easy to live and work based on internet articles which i read. However, when you do not have any friend who guides you for work and as well support you to learn language then very difficult. In September 2016 i took my family back to PAKISTAN because no work. Now 3 weeks and we back again to Floripa.
Long is short, language is problem and for surviving you need to learn Portuguese.
Bad but good experience. Happy life

Ron Pinto

Well Nasir, learning the local language is necessary in most countries where your own language is not spoken. 
Many companies in Brazil require English, but full command of Portuguese goes without saying.

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