Domestic violence in Spain

          

           It has been long since I wrote something about us on this blog. I have to say due to a lot of work and new projects, which require my full attention.

           I wanted to start this year by sharing with you an important problem that has been on my mind all the time.

           I live in Spain, a country where women have accomplished so much and fight every day for their rights and their survival. Even though they have come a long way, there is still a lot of work to be done.

           The number of death of women in this country, caused by domestic violence, seem to increase and it needs our attention here and in other countries. Talking about it is very important in order to create a strong bond between people, governments, and groups so they can help fight this disease.

          I pray for all those women that lost their lives last year and their children, I pray that we find a solution or at least a stronger way to finalize this terrible crime. And I pray that women, no matter where they are from, stand together and help each other, only then we can say we are on the right track.

SVS

What can mothers do to bring up better men and women?

We have been reading a lot about rapes and domestic violence in the international news spectrum. Before, woman used to fight for personal injustices against them, but now we are in much need to speak out about a most important threat to society, which is violence against women.

Throughout history we read of punishments, hanging, beheadings and killing by stoning women for supposedly being unfaithful to their husbands, whereas we have rarely heard in the past of punishments or killing of men for being unfaithful to their wives.

So we need to ask ourselves: what is the root of violence against women? Does it start inside our homes or out there in the social environment where the child grows up? May be we should study and analyze how we bring up our boys and girls in this world and see if there are any ways to prevent the development of violent behavior against women and mankind in general.

Is equality among husband and wife a reality at home? If we look really close inside our homes we usually find that women still have the larger responsibility of bringing up their children more than men do. Women are often expected to do more than men and are criticized if they don’t. Does these expectations give in some societies the right for men to abuse verbally or physically their wives?

The high number of woman murdered by husbands and boyfriends even in western countries makes us wonder what are we doing wrong, why we are failing and not able to correct this trend. Western countries have been fighting for many years to give women their full equal rights and protection.  It is quite disturbing to know that with all past and current women movements in different countries we are still where we are today. What is that special education  that mothers-to-be would need to receive in order to successfully promote equality between men and women and raise children with a clear attitude for rejecting violence.

In Spain there was an article written by a man who stated that society should be careful not to protect women’s right by decreasing the rights given to men. Is that a serious concern or the perception of some men that feel that their comfort zone is coming under threat? To be more realistic, what society saw as the norm in the past has now been considered inequality in today’s society and the change may appear threatening to some.

Let us stop being scared of what our culture and history have in the past dictated to us and let us do what we know is best for the future: To teach boys and girls that they have the same equal rights, not to expect nor accept any type of abuse. And by doing so we should not fear of breaking our family or cultural values, it is just an evolution that is taking humanity to a better and more stable future.

Do MOST parents have a favorite child?

        Believe it or not,  MOST seems they do. And there has been a study that found out the consequences of what they call “differential parenting”.

       The new study is from the Journal of Child Development, where Jenny Jenkins, the lead author of the study and professor in the department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto said, "We expected differential parenting to operate stronger within the parent-child dynamic. However, differential parenting had a stronger effect on the entire family."

      The differential parenting is something I have fought all my life. I have childhood memories of my grandmother having favoritism between her children and doing the same with her grandchildren. 

       As it says in the study, it does not only affect the parent-child relationship but that of the whole family. And how it can not if one child is given more love than the other, that other child will feel left out and will hurt the child's overall emotional evaluation of his or her own worth as well as their relation with that other “ favorite” child.

Please read more of the consequences of giving one of your children more love in http://www.srcd.org.

Please do give love to all in your home!!

SVS

Curious news!

          Now it is going to seem to you that I read a lot of articles about women in politics, but come to think of it could not be far from the truth.

            It just happens to be that the articles in the media have been so interesting lately that you can’t but read them.

          For example, to read in the news that some people are asking themselves if the USA is ready for a white male Secretary of State is just too hilarious. If you look at my last article and you are now reading this one you would think that women are everywhere in the leadership arena. Definitely, we are in many places today, and God do we want to be in more! But let's take it to step by step and hope the increase of our presence in positions of leadership is done gradually and correctly and that our women leaders show their best capacity to be in those jobs.

           There is no question in my mind that I want them all to be &Mother, but being sisters, daughters, and/or wives is just as good.  And I know that &Mother group is rising up and increasing in all top positions worldwide, so it is ok if we leave some jobs for the rest.

         By the way, let me take some time to congratulate our new &Mother Shakira. May you always be able to balance your life as a mother and your life as a hard-working singer as well as keeping the work to the most needed.

Until next curious news!!

SVS

A U.S. State under the power of &MOTHERS

In New Hampshire something is happening and something that looks beautiful and for us, &mother, makes us proud. The top 5 leaders of the State are women and not only women but &mothers.

The Governor, The state’s two senators and the states new representatives are all Women, and are all mothers and wives. This is the best example for our new generation of young girls to look up to and to see how it is possible to have it all!!

If that was not enough, their female Governor was sworn in by a female Chief of justice of the State Supreme Court in a ceremony presided by their female State House Speaker. It is just a picture perfect at least for a while, it is nice to see that it is possible, not that I want it to be for good, now remember I have three boys.

Governor Hassan says that “there is a camaraderie that comes from shared experiences, and I think the fact that all of us are mothers, as well as public servants as well as wives and sisters and daughters, certainly is something that binds us together” (cbsnews.com)

Also Rep Ann McLane Kuster repeats what a lot of us think that

" if you can raise toddlers and teenagers then you know how to get to yes, you know how to bring people to the table. And right now in Congress, that's what voters are looking for Congress to do." (cbsnews.com)

So voters go out and vote for more &mothers. But don’t worry &fathers, just let us enjoy it now for a while!!

SVS

Believe in YOURSELF

Every now and then we need a little help to put us on the right track. We may be down for so many reasons now, so for this week and for you to keep at all times here you have the quote of the week:

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Come on, do it, just DO IT!!!

And here you have it from some people that may know more than I do:

“ Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

Norman Vincent Peale

“Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Clause. Believe in others. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will? “

Jon Bon Jovi

“Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it”

Diane Sawyer

“You know, you do need mentors, but in the end, you really just need to believe in yourself. “

Diana Ross

“Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution.”

 David J. Schwartz, Magic Of Thinking Big

“If you can’t believe in miracles, then believe in yourself. When you want something bad enough, let that drive push you to make it happen. Sometimes you’ll run into brick walls that are put there to test you. Find a way around them and stay focused on your dream. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Isabel Lopez, Isabel's Hand-Me-Down Dreams

“Man is what he believes – believe in yourself”

 Amit Abraham, Personality Development Through Positive Thinking