Spain for Kids | Expat Mums in Spain | Living with Children in Spain

Newsletter - September 2011

We hope you all had a good summer whether you stayed in Spain or went elsewhere for a well deserved break. For those of you with children of school age, three months holiday may have seemed quite long so you may be catching up on work and a whole load of other chores! Some of your children may be starting school for the first time, which can often more daunting for you than your son or daughter. Our schools expert Bridget Nelson has been working on various topics in our Schools section including advice to your child on starting school for the first time, which is well worth a read.

We’d like to give a warm welcome our new key sponsors Bupa International, a world leader in International health insurance for expatriates. They are kindly endorsing our Health Section and have supplied us with some informative and interesting articles on Travel and Health as well as City Guides for Madrid & Barcelona. Bupa are also sponsoring our sister site MumAbroad France which has recommendations for everything from city break apartments to rural hideaways.

LATEST RECOMMENDATIONS

Beach Thanks as always for your recommendations in all our regions.

In Catalunya we have suggestions for a handyman and park with a swimming area both of which are in Barcelona, a kids clothing store and child-friendly café in Mataro, a painter & decorator in Maresme and two great day-trips in Cadaques and Sant Marti d’Empuries on the Costa Brava.

Our researcher Harriet in Madrid has recommended a fabulous park for kids and two restaurants for nights out without the children (dream on).

Meanwhile on the Costa Blanca, Vicky has told us about a novel way to gift wrap kids presents and in Andalucia Marit has told us about a child-friendly vegetarian restaurant in Cadiz.

In our holiday section we’ve two new testimonials about family trips to Morocco and Turkey as well as a recommendation for Yurts in Tarifa whilst in our schools section, we’ve a ringing endorsement for the International French school L'École Française Ferdinand de Lesseps.

You can easily access all the latest recommendations from the regional boxes on our homepage.

LATEST INTERVIEWS

"If a parent is Spanish or Catalan, then they will be able to support their child at school and from what I hear the private Catalan schools are excellent, but if like us, your Spanish/Catalan is limited and you don’t know how long you will be living in Barcelona, then it makes sense to opt for the International or tri-lingual schools".
These are the thoughts of Jessica a qualified primary school teacher now living in Barcelona. She tells us why she decided to opt for an International school over a public school as well as giving us advice to parents on the first day.

Catalan mum Maria also gives her thoughts on public versus International schools "Local schools are closer to home and the children get a sense of community and they can walk or go by bike to school. The kids play with their friends after school. And it is cheaper !! The disadvantage is the Catalan in that it is only good for Catalunya. The advantages of International schools is for foreign parents that they don´t have to learn a new language that maybe they will never use again in their lives... They have friends from all around and they learn different cultures". Read more

"I have regular clients at schools, nurseries, toddler groups and individual people. It's really got me out and about and helped my self confidence a lot, particularly because most of my clients are Spanish and given me the chance to earn some money (I have been a full time mum for 8 years) so it's refreshing and given me a new challenge. " Read this interview with Claire an Usborne Books Team Leader, who also gives us an entertaining story of the birth of her child in Granada as does Saira in Cadiz whose second child was born in the car! You can read her full story here

If you would like to be interviewed or be featured in our Mums in Business section, please drop as an email to info@mumabroad.com

LATEST EVENTS

Events This is always a busy time of year as far as children`s events are concerned and Spain`s two biggest cities Madrid & Barcelona have lots of family shows on offer including the Lion King, Les Miserables, Chicago, and Noddy Live!

Other Events:

WHATS HOT ON THE FORUM

You’ve been very busy posting information and asking for advice on our forum pages over the summer - thank you!

Among those looking for help are Charlotte and Clare who both want to meet other Mums in their respective areas of Madrid, "Stay at home mum" is looking for ideas to do with her toddler in South Torrevieja and Simon who would like as much feedback on International schooling in Barcelona as possible.

Up for sale at the moment are a Kiln, a ‘shade a babe’ and a travel cot. Meanwhile on the jobs board, the English Clubhouse in Barcelona is looking for a professional cleaner, two native English teachers are being sought by Keiko’s Dream also in Barcelona and an English teacher is also needed in Madrid.

Please keep your posts coming in and don`t forget you can advertize for free any events in your area. Parents of children in Catalunya who attend public schools will have been interested to hear that the Spanish government has voted in favour of the current teaching methods where most subjects are taught in Catalan. It is the government’s response to recent calls to include Castilian as a language of instruction within the Catalan schools system. Read more

IN THE NEWS

A recent study of 250 children from Spain, Sweden and the UK, found that youngsters’ happiness was dependent on spending time with a stable family and having plenty of things to do, especially outdoors, rather than on owning gadgets or branded clothes. It has prompted a call from Unicef to banish all TV advertising aimed at children Under 12. Read more

Working mothers who try to combine a high-powered job with an active family life are unhappier than those who simply accept they cannot have everything, US research has found. A study of 1,600 married women found that those with jobs were less likely to suffer from depression than those who stayed at home to look after their family. Read more

If you have a child over the age of 2, your work may already be done as far as their health is concerned. A growing number of international experts share the belief that the first 1,000 days of life from conception to a child’s second birthday are critical in determining what happens later in adult life. Read more

We’ve added some new articles to our Children`s Health Section on ‘Coping with change’, Behavioural issues and ‘Learning through Play’, all of which are really interesting and well worth a read.

We also have a new section devoted to Men`s Health. Men are notoriously bad at looking after their own health so we’ve included some articles so that the women in their lives can tell them what they should and should not be doing!

Finally we have a brand new section devoted to being an expat woman living abroad. Articles include moving your marriage abroad, preparing your kids for relocation and how to be a successful mother whilst in a foreign country.