Every culture has its iteration of what it means to be a parent. What is the parent’s job? In Italy many children stay home until they’re married. So, the role of a parent extends far beyond say, in Australia (where I grew up).

Where I grew up, parents can more or less expect that their kids will be out of the home by 18 years old. It’s almost an embarrassment to still be living at home with your parents by the time you’ve graduated from university. Many Australians would prefer to be living with 4 roommates, eating peanut butter sandwiches and cup noodles than to be living with their parents. It got me thinking of what it means to be a parent.

There is no right or wrong approach. Both have their pros and cons. Italians in general are known to place a strong importance on family where you can expect family input and support well into adulthood. And anglophone countries are known to place more importance on individuality, with a looser reliance or focus on family beyond the one you build as an adult.

As a mom, I want to make sure that at about 18 years old (classified as an adult in Australia), my child will be able to live without my constant guidance. I want her to have the ability to be completely independent because there is nothing more encouraging than knowing that you can be. I think that type of freedom brings true fulfilment.

With that in mind, these are a few of the key things I want to teach my child while she’s under my care. In no order.

• Confidence. Respect for self & others. Respect for health.
• Happiness, what it is, how to be happy
• Discipline
• What love is, what it means to be loved
• Growth mindset
• Responsibility & integrity. Sense of responsibility to self, own decisions, for ones actions & words, to a job, to family.
• Social responsibility, community, nature
• The ability to live simply, adaptability, develop empathy
• Mindfulness, what it means to have control over your own mind
• Worldliness, open-mindedness, respect for different cultures
• Basic self-sufficiency. Cooking, cleaning, all that.

A lot of this is intertwined. For example, happiness with responsibility for self and growth mindset all go hand in hand. And a lot of this stuff begins in the subconscious of a child. They start piecing together a puzzle with what they see us do or say repeatedly. And from that they form a sense of self, a sense of the world, how they view everything.

So, while my child (and hopefully, children) are my responsibility, I want to try and make a conscious effort. These are my goals.

Most of the things you see on my site will be something among these topics as I read, ponder, research and parent along.