Last night I was invited to a fabulous Fellini feast, the opening night of “Amarcord” – a dance performance based on Italian Film Director Federico Fellini’s 1973 film of the same name. The title “Amarcord” is taken from the local dialect meaning “mi ricordo” in Italian or “I Remember”– and is a fantastical trip through …
Part IV – Life of the Italian Super-Mamma – Not the ‘Dolce Vita’ As recent articles have shown, traditions, manners, discipline and parenting habits can vary dramatically from one country to the next, but the Italian Mamma is up against more than her counterparts in the US and France. A fascinating study by three women …
La vita della Super-mamma italiana non è la ‘Dolce Vita’ Come dimostrano articoli recenti, le tradizioni, le buone maniere, la disciplina e le abitudini dei genitori possono variare notevolmente da un Paese all’altro, ma la mamma italiana ha una vita più difficile di quelle americane o francesi. Un’affascinante ricerca condotta dalla prestigiosa università Bocconi di …
Part III – Leo in the Sandbox, Nico in the Tree Although I am against fruit loops at Mass, I have a typical American belief in allowing kids a fair amount of liberty, unlike the French and Italians. Pamela Druckerman told the story of how she learned from a French Mom how to speak to …
Part II Fevers, Food and Clothing As an American living in Italy, I have learned that Italian mammas spend their days measuring their child’s fevers. When a child has the flu, the mamma has to measure the temperature at least four or five times a day to report the specific number — 38.3, 39.1, 37.9 …
Dear Blog Readers: Several of you pointed out to me an article in the “Wall Street Journal”, “Why French Parents are Superior” and asked for my thoughts and opinions in comparison to the Italian mothering style. I decided to submit my own article to the “Wall Street Journal” on the Italian Super Mamma. After working …
Dear Blog Readers– Just a short post to follow up on my last one, Patting the Bunny. I decided I better fulfill my promise to vist the two homeless women I had mentioned. This morning I went to Largo Torre Argentina and the singing African woman who is usually begging for money near the tram …
I had a bad case of the Monday morning grouches today. Perhaps it was because I spent three hours – until midnight- Sunday night combing through an unnamed child’s hair pulling out lice and lice eggs. Then I had to sequester stuffed animals, disinfect hairbrushes and change bedclothes. What is it with the super-snotty French …