At just fifteen days old, Bruna spent her first weekend in a house that, not long before, her parents and a dozen other families had jointly rented to share time and leisure. She is now twenty years old and, although she doesn't go as often as before, she is happy to have it available. “I remember the excitement of Friday afternoons, when I knew we were going,” explains Bruna, “we had a great time, we went on excursions and we had a cabin”. 

Since the first edition of l'Embassa't there have been families with children, because we have always ensured that the space was safe, prioritizing comfort and with friendly proposals. The night schedule, obviously, is no longer for children. But for more than 10 years we organized the Petit Embassa’t.Don't do it anymore...

Courage, energy, fun, cooperation, shrewdness, gratitude, admiration... These are some of the terms that are intertwined throughout the story The grandmother has a lot of energy (Editorial Octaedro) with the energy that Carme Puxan, the protagonist of the story, carries throughout her journey in Ecuador. The book, written by her son, Francesc Balagué, illustrated by Joana Bruna, and available since April at Joanabruna.com, tells the adventures of the grandmother of Luka, 12 years old, and Kael, 9 years old, who also appear in the story.

“My children started bringing their partners home when they were seventeen. It was logical for our way of educating. For me, sexuality is as normal as a kiss; no one should hide it”, says Elena Sánchez, mother of a daughter, Mar, who is 22 years old, and a son, Javi, who is 20 years old. The reality is that Elena is a statistical exception: 40% of Spanish families have never or almost never talked about sex education with their children, according to data from the FAD Juventud Foundation (2025). According to the report, sexual practices and pornography are still pending subjects: families prefer to talk about “more comfortable” topics like love or respect, but they avoid delving into the “how” and the “where”.

Sant Jordi has ended and we save for next year the phrases we always repeat to ourselves: that it's the most beautiful day of the year, that it should be a holiday, that if some country had this festival we would envy them, what luck to enjoy a day that is about reading and loving. Exactly, a festival where we put books at the center and where we make the best-selling rankings, which doesn't mean the most read. I wonder how many of the books bought for Sant Jordi are left on nightstands, waiting for their moment. When it's summer, when the children go to camps, when this project is over, when I'm less tired. With reading, we do a bit like with life, we keep waiting for the optimal moment without realizing that it is now and today that we should read more, go out more, or rest more. And I tell this to those of you who now have young children and are more in the pit: they will not be small again, but you will not be the age and energy you have now either.

When she was 6 years old, teacher Maryam El Hamidi (Tangier, 1994) experienced firsthand the ordeal her students have recently gone through. With her mother and sister, they came to live in Castelló d’Empúries to reunite with her father in the year 2000. "In the schools where I have worked, they see me as a mirror. Especially women, they see a role model. Perhaps I haven't gone through the same circumstances as them, but I know their needs. I give them confidence and motivation. If the road is long, I make it shorter," assures El Hamidi.

You are often asked questions that throw you off balance. I remember we were at a country house that we shared with friends and the little one was talking to some slightly older creatures who were listening to her with their mouths agape. When we asked her what they were talking about, she said: “Mom, isn’t it true that from the vagina comes discharge, blood, life, and death?”. It was a very powerful moment, and at the same time a precious opportunity to talk about it naturally. Being a mother is a very lively job, constantly transforming. It is beautiful, but also demanding, because it involves accompanying without controlling, listening, and knowing when to give space.What do you find burdensome?

In Catalonia, there is a male name that has topped the list of most given names for three decades. Specifically, between 1990 and 2009. It is striking, however, that before 1940 and up to 1959 it was a practically residual name. For example, during the decade of 1940 to 1949 it was only given about fifty times; therefore, it is difficult to currently find a grandfather named that, while from 2000 to 2009 almost 15,000 families chose it for their babies. We are talking about the name Marc, which celebrates its name day on April 25.

If one thing is clear, it is that parenting is not an easy task. How many times have we promised ourselves that we would not do something as parents and ended up falling on all fours? Or quite the opposite, how many times did we have a clear idea of the path we wanted to follow but the situations or challenges we encountered forced us to deviate? Be that as it may, Leire Vázquez, a specialist in clinical psychology at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona, makes it clear that the role of parents is key to fostering the skills that are important for their children when they become adults.

We have become extraordinarily skilled at choosing, practically in everything. We choose the best school, the best extracurricular activity, the most ergonomic backpack, the BPA-free lunchbox, and the flat-soled sneakers. We choose sugar-free, we choose to restrict mobile phones, we choose respectful clothing as if clothing could behave disrespectfully, and we choose toys with a Montessori label.

Every Wednesday, Emma Osorio practices judo at the Municipal Sports Center Olímpics on Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron, in Barcelona. She has been doing so for three years, accompanied by 17 other boys and girls between 12 and 19 years old who, like her, have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These are adapted sessions, led by judo instructors and volunteers, in which the young people practice everything from the typical greetings and stances of this sport to pair and group dynamics, including strength training and other aerobic exercises.

“Children don’t just feel conflict, they breathe it”. Psychologist specialized in mediation and conciliation Javier Wilhelm highlights that when two families go through a conflict situation and their children share a class, this has a direct implication on the minors’ well-being. The school can play an important role as a link between the parties, but the key factor that will determine the extent of the consequences are the families involved. The way they manage their disagreement –with the emotions it entails– can lead to a serious estrangement between the children and, among adults, open a communicative abyss.

This very day, in a second, Guillem has disappeared. What are you saying!

Fantasy books, mystery books, dystopian stories, personal diaries, and traditional tales with block letters, cursive letters, or print letters. And sagas, many sagas. Students from Institut Escola Sant Felip Neri in Barcelona, aged 4 to 15, have recommended their favorite books to us, as well as those that once opened the door to the enjoyment of reading. These are their recommendations for this Sant Jordi.

The Good Daughter, by director Júlia de Paz (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1995), can now be seen in cinemas. It shows the consequences of vicarious violence and sexist violence on children, who are often unrecognized victims. And it does so through Carmela, a 12-year-old girl, who must periodically go to a meeting point to see her father, whom she idolizes. Little by little, however, the girl – and with her, the viewer – will discover who he really is and his way of exercising psychological violence.

Mystery, adventures, horror, romance, dystopias, and comics. Above all, comics. The reading interests of young people are varied, and these are some of the themes that abound when it comes to discerning what they read, but there's more, and they obey reasons and interests that update as they grow older.

Everyone is clear that reading is good and having the habit of reading is even better. For years we have been trying to do this from high schools, especially language teachers. I say we try because we don't always succeed. In a few high schools in Catalonia, half an hour is dedicated to reading every day. Where I work, this is done in all courses, from first year of ESO to second year of baccalaureate. Sometimes, on guard duty or walking through the corridors, you see that the youngest ones, those in the first cycle, still maintain the desire to read. The key word is "still", because I fear that with adolescence, a good part of the students lose the reading habit. Some, unfortunately, forever.

I remember going shopping for clothes with my mother who had that habit of everything having to match, everything having to go together. There was that obsession with making sure any piece you bought matched the clothes you already had.This is no longer the case with your daughters. Do you have many arguments about clothes?

Of all the mistakes I've made in my maternal journey, of which there are many and varied, there has also been a great success: enrolling my children in the after-school club. It's the town's after-school club, called Globus Roig, and like all after-school clubs, they educate in leisure and, above all, they educate in something enormous: that the youngest have adolescents as role models who act as monitors, who play with them and take them on camps in exchange for nothing. Let's return to this concept so we don't overlook it. In. Exchange. For. Nothing. It is the maximum generosity in a world where adolescents have a reputation for not looking up from their phones and living in an infinite scroll without their own criteria. We value this refuge of young people who have decided to mortgage all their weekends and their holidays to be with our children. this refuge of young people who have decided to mortgage all their weekends and their holidays to be with our children.

You have an argument with your son or daughter and, without being able to help it, you immediately ignore them for a while and practically don't speak to them. This practice, known as the silent treatment, can have consequences for the minor. "This adult behavior generates feelings of guilt, rejection, and misunderstanding in minors, and can damage their self-esteem and their ability to face conflicts in the future," explains Sylvie Pérez, psychopedagogue and collaborating professor of psychology and educational sciences studies at the UOC.