I don't mean to sit in front of us with two years and teach them the theories about Big Ban, Adam and Eve or Lucy. I mean explaining where your parents, grandparents were born, why we do some things and not others, that is, what defines our cultural base.
Surely you will be surprised and there will be a lot of questions about the origins of your family and we will have a good time with them. The importance of teaching our children where they come from.
It is clear that during the first two or three years of life, our son will do the same if he is from Cuenca, Dutch or Filipino, for him his world is his parents and brothers if there were any, the rest is something that goes or it comes depending on the day. I do not say that it is not important, many times those people who navigate around us leave a deep mark on us, but in these first months who really care about the baby are their caretakers and having their needs covered.
It is at an older age when a child can ask questions about why we do things in a certain way and above all, why we do things differently than others do.
The origins
We cannot expect a four or five year old child to feel the family roots with the same passion as we do, especially when in many cases they are not the same as his own, although this is not going to be noticed until a more advanced age in That sits here or there.
For him, right now, being from Madrid or Barcelona is the same as being from Madrid or Barça, it will be because those he loves are and because a shirt or plate likes him more than another, but nothing more.
Something that if you are going to give it importance are your last names. For him that is defining and differentiating him from the rest of his friends. My son, like his friends, play to change the names "Dad, my name is Luis or León", but he does not admit that he is called otherwise. Your last names are not modifiable, not even playing.
The grandparents
What better to talk about our origins than those that go back in them. Who better than them to sing songs of your land to their grandchildren, who can teach them how to play when nothing was carried or even a miserable pile.
Grandparents are small encyclopedias with the story of your life. You can see the photos of your childhood, but they are the ones who know the story behind.
The famous "grandfather's battalions" are a magnificent entertainment for your children and for you, because remembering your childhood surely you get closer to that of your eyes and perhaps you will find many of the "why" of the things that your children do. It is surprising when you reproach your son for doing a certain thing and your mother jumps behind you "because you were doing it all the time, so he has someone to leave"
The typical family dishes
We live in a country full of cultural nuances, sometimes regions separated by a few kilometers are like night and day, culturally speaking. A dish like stew or salad is very different in Madrid, Barcelona, Lugo or Salamanca and within each area, each family has its own recipe that can even change from parents to children.
So what better way to teach your child where his family comes from than to show him his typical dishes. It is also important to maintain that connection with our past, because especially if you are an immigrant and you are in a country of culture very different from yours, it is possible that your child loses that taste for the roots that differentiates us so much and at the same time It makes us see that although we are different we are more like what we believe.
The music
The typical songs of an area is a feature that characterizes and differentiates us from the rest. For example, I don't like flamenco or copla at all, my ear and feet go away, when in a foreign country you hear some popular Spanish song. Or when we get together in family gatherings and someone starts some measure of those youth hymns of your land.
In my case, the grandmothers of my children sing repertoires of nannies completely different from their grandchildren, making a common list that even with Spotify we would not get.
Create a family tree
A great time to spend an afternoon building our own family tree. For the little ones, it is very entertaining to spend an afternoon with family doing crafts and for us it will be a pleasant experience to be able to physically see the bonds of union of the different members of the family.
Visit the city where we were born or where our parents were born
Although we don't have anyone there anymore, it sure can be an interesting trip for everyone to return to the city where you grew up, teach your children where you played, the house where you lived, the school where you studied, the candy store (if it still exists ), etc. You will see how for your children it is very exciting and there will be a lot of questions.
