Maternal fatigue is the theme of a children’s book – 05/12/2023 – Maternar

Miscellaneous toys, or TV remote in mom’s purse. Keys, socks, bottle of nail polish and hair elastic in the gap of the sofa. Anyone who is a mother knows well what their children are capable of doing (or hiding) when they are playing at home.

If it’s the car or house key, then the inconvenience is greater. And tired. Even more so if this happens almost every day. Add to that the routine of the house, work, health problems and boletos. Does it include sleep deprivation?

But, can we adults take a breath before the scolding and realize that that spilled pot of paint was used in a beautiful drawing for us? And how is this fatigue seen from a child’s point of view?

Author Vanessa Barbara found a very funny and light way to talk about it. In “Mom is Tired”, she shows everyday situations she lives with her daughter Mabel, 4, at home.

Upon returning from school, the girl is full of energy to play, jump, sing, run and play drums. And the mother? Tired, of course.

In order to be able to work “in peace”, the author says that she removes dangerous objects from her reach. “I’ve reached a level of detachment that I’m really only concerned with movements that offer real danger. Besides, the house has already been entirely taken over and is vandalized from time to time”, she says.

Vanessa says that exhaustion made her cry a few times and that permission to use electronic devices is sometimes the only way to be able to concentrate and deliver some work or take care of something at home.

“She understands when I say that I need to do something and that she will have to play alone for a certain amount of time, but sometimes, even unintentionally, she ends up calling me for some reason”, he says.

That’s where the cell phone comes into play. “I’m always frustrated when I see some expert criticize other people’s children’s screen time, saying that by watching a video, the child has lost the opportunity to do this or that, but the truth is that adults can be absolutely exhausted to handle everything at that moment, and the screen gives us a temporary pause to breathe and be able to think with some clarity”, he points out.

“Mom is Tired” was conceived based on her daughter’s observation during the isolation caused by Covid-19. “I saw how Mabel moved around the house and invented games, taking advantage of all the things and environments, sometimes using me as an accessory. In fact, young children act as if the world revolves around them, and that tired mother full of chores it is a supporting role in this very rich universe that they invent”, he says.

The purpose of the book is to reflect on how the child sees this world and takes advantage of each “art” to develop a little more, but it also allows the mother to assume that all this is too tiring. “In this fun way, the two parties may be able to see each other better, with their needs and hardships”, says the author.

The book launch will take place this Saturday (13), at 3 pm, in the children’s space of Companhia das Letras (Conjunto Nacional, Av. Paulista, 2073, São Paulo, SP) with storytelling on site. Laura Trochmann, the book’s illustrator, will also be at the event.

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