We talked a lot about the need for work and family reconciliation and the problem that it means for parents to 'get to everything', dedicating time and quality to our children.
We know they need us and we don't want to miss the enjoyment with them, but it's not always easy. In this situation, UNICEF Spanish Committee has launched the campaign '# For RealConciliation', with the intention of ask political parties to commit themselves to parents and their children to achieve real conciliation.
The NGO invited some children to dress up as their parents and to act as if they were, repeating what they hear daily in their homes and recorded their reactions and those of their parents. In its staging we can hear phrases as revealing as "I'm very tired, honey. I promise you, I promise you tomorrow we will." And this is how our children see us when we return home from work: stressed and tired.
"I want more family time"
"What do you want to do for a living when you grow up?" This is the question that UNICEF asked a group of children and that opens the video of this campaign for conciliation. The six families that appear in the video are real, as well as their reactions, and their problems, according to UNICEF, are the "Common reconciliation problems for many people in Spain: lack of time, work rates, mental load, stress or multi-employment, which have an impact on both adults and children."
What these children and their parents did not expect is that the question gave rise to reflect on the time they spend together.
So the children tell us what their parents do when they return home: "work", "take a nap because they are tired"... and everyone agrees to lament that they miss their parents, and that the work and stress it causes them, they are very guilty of not enjoying more moments together.
Therefore, Although they admire their parents, they do not want to have their profession when they are older.
In Babies and more Motherhood and conciliation: 75 percent of Spanish mothers feel guilty of not being able to spend more time with their childrenIn fact, Unicef explains that 32% of the Spanish population is dissatisfied with the conciliation measures and systems, compared to the European average of 20%, according to the Eurobarometer of 2018. And highlights that:
"From the perspective of the rights of children, conciliation is based mainly on their need to grow alongside their families. And it guarantees the fulfillment of their rights, among others, to be cared for by their parents (Art. 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as these guarantee its full development (Art. 18. CRC); or enjoy playtime and rest (Art. 31, CRC). "
According to the same study, Spain is also among the countries in which fewer people (52%) have access to a flexible organization of their working time with formulas such as reduced working hours.
In this sense, Javier Martos, executive director of Unicef Spanish Committee, explains that a compromise of real conciliation must be reached "with the minors, who are present and future of Spain, and with all their fathers and mothers":
"It is key that governments and the private sector are committed to measures that allow children to enjoy their fathers and mothers during all stages of growth and development.""We want to be older ..."
It is the motto of the collection of signatures launched by Unicef that will deliver to the government that leaves the next general elections. According to the NGO, its purpose is "get a real commitment to conciliation" with:
- A paternity and maternity leave law "The same, obligatory and non-transferable that contemplates sections of enjoyment that do not necessarily have to be simultaneously simultaneous between father and mother, in accordance with the directive of the European Union of reconciliation of family and professional life".
In Babies and more Reconciliation of work and family life: a long way to goThe extension of maternity leave to a minimum of six months, following the recommendations of UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), to promote exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of the baby's life.
The creation of tax incentives and bonuses to companies that promote family reconciliation measures, such as flexibility and streamlining schedules.
With this campaign, UNICEF explains that it wants to make visible that conciliation is not a privilege, but a right of children: they have the right to spend time with their families.
"A society where there are no measures to combine personal, family and professional life is not sustainable because the lack of conciliation deprives children of care, time and protection key to their development." And you do you think. If you agree, you can sign the petition.
