Marta Pedrico: "I'm worried that they'll know how to defend themselves when they're alone."

BarcelonaSleep and rest are important for your health. Marina is calmer, and we don't need to insist too much, but Pau always has a few hours to do what he wants to do. Luckily, once he falls asleep, he rarely wakes up. The little one still calls us almost every night to keep her company.

What ritual does it have?

— Since we were little, bedtime has been accompanied by the choice of stories. With Pau, we had to limit the number of stories. With Marina, when I stopped breastfeeding, I had to find new ways to relax her. What she liked most was when I stretched out and stroked her tummy and back.

And you, how do you sleep?

— One piece of advice you're given when you have your first baby is "take advantage of the time to sleep when he sleeps, even during the day." It's a difficult thing to do because when the baby sleeps, we take advantage of it to do all the things we haven't had time to do before. But taking advantage of these times to sleep has helped me build moments of peace and tranquility. Naps with the little ones sleeping on top of me are very fond memories.

How does the day begin?

— The first two hours of the day are the ones that drive us the most and generate the most stressful situations. When I drop them off at school, I often feel like I've achieved the first goal of the day. It's a time of day that creates contradictions for me. On the one hand, it drives me crazy that they don't understand the concept of the passage of time. On the other hand, I feel a great tenderness and a certain admiration for their ability to prioritize their rhythms and their games.

And what do you do to keep your temper?

— The more nervous I get, the more nervous they get, and the more the mess gets. So when I get nervous and start shouting, I try to breathe and do a self-control exercise to regain my composure and put the situation into perspective. It often helps to bring them back to the playing field, although I have to be careful that things don't get out of hand and they don't want to drag the game out a little too long.

What are your children learning right now?

— Her main learning curve is growing up. Pablo must learn to choose and know what he likes, and that isn't always easy. Deciding whether he still enjoys an extracurricular activity or does it out of habit. His relationships with his classmates are also changing, becoming more complex, and he must learn to manage them. And he's also learning that right and wrong are concepts with many nuances. Marina faces the challenge of losing her shyness and showing the world the kindness and joy she already gives us at home.

What future learnings are you concerned about?

— Sexual and emotional education. Body awareness and respect for others. Pornography use and abuse prevention. I'm also concerned about ensuring they know how to relate healthily to their peers, without abusing or tolerating it. Ultimately, I'm concerned about ensuring they know how to defend themselves when they're alone, that they can distinguish between what's right and what's wrong, and how to react in adverse situations. I'm also concerned about educating them on the proper use of mobile phones and the digital world.

What should work best at home?

— They have a hard time tidying up, but we parents have a hard time too. We're fast-paced, jumping from one thing to another and never tidying up before starting the next activity. And when bedtime comes, we still have leaves, paints, construction materials, the day's clothes, and whatever else you can imagine lying around where they don't belong.

Tell me a memory.

— We went to spend a weekend in Pallars, visiting some friends and a cousin. We didn't have much space for the four of us, so we decided to go hiking. Pau just wanted to get home, and Marina wanted to continue the hike. It seemed like the situation would end with someone very upset.

Bad piece on the loom.

— Suddenly, Marina said she was sinking in the mud. It had rained that night, and our shoes were accumulating mud. We didn't seem to like the mud at all, but they soon went from being angry to playing a game of seeing who had the most mud stuck to their soles. What seemed like a doomed morning turned into a really fun time. Of course, we ended up dirty.