Families in Spain and the U.S.

First let me say that my knowledge on this subject is limited strictly to mainly my host family (her two grown daughters, her son-in-law, and her grandson) and to stories I have been told by my friends about their host families. My generalizations about the Spanish family stem from this.

Overall the family unit is generally the same in Spain as it is in the United States. The parents work, the children go to school, etc. What I think is different in Spain than in the U.S. is that families seem closer here than families in the states do. For example, my host mother Carmen watches her grandson, Juan Antonio, every day of the week while her daughter and son-in-law work. At lunch each day her 2 daughters and son-in-law come to eat the lunch she has made for every one. During lunchtime they always have a continuous conversation going, and even after lunch has concluded Juan Antonio's normally stay and nap before heading back to work. Some afternoons I come back to find Carmen, her daughters, and Juan Antonio hanging out together in the apartment. They all seem very close.

I have been told similar stories by my friends in my program. Normally the immediate family and many friends of their host families are always traipsing through the apartments. Many of the stories I have been told have occurred when my friends are having dinner with their families and the friends and other family come over for a meal or for coffee/tea.

Another thing I have noticed between families in Spain and the United States is that children and more babied here. For example Juan Antonio is 2 years old and normally at that age children are already eating solid foods, but I have never seen him eat a solid food. Normally for lunch he eats a pureed soup and yogurt. I have only seen him eat a piece of bread, but even then he only sucks on it. It's very different.

My friend, Tesla, also told me that when her host mother's grandchildren visited her that her host mother bathed her 8 year old grandson. I don't know about other people in the U.S., but when I was 8 I was bathing on my own.

Overall I think children are babied more and stay children longer than in the U.S. Children here also live with their families longer too. I have met a few Spaniards that still live with their families and they are college-aged.

I have no opinion on which country raises their children better, because I think there are positive and negative points with each country. I only write about this to point out the differences that I have seen.