Family life: Do Italians do it better?

DW (English)

Italy is known for placing family above everything else, but is that the reality? And what does that mean for daily living?

Transcript

00:00I'm Giuseppe Galeano, and this is the Galeano family.

00:08The Galeanos live in Scalia, a town on the coast of Italy's southern Calabria region.

00:13Alessandra likes to dance, her brother Antonio plays soccer, and the youngest Irene loves

00:19drawing.

00:20Their father Giuseppe is a tax advisor, while Silvia works half days in a medical practice.

00:26In my mind, the concept of the classical family has changed.

00:29In raising the kids, we pay more attention to dividing up the jobs and doing this together.

00:38About 8 million Italian households have children.

00:41Statistically, 1.2 children are currently born per Italian woman, one of the lowest

00:46birth rates in the EU.

00:48So the Galeanos, with their three kids, don't fit the typical Italian mold.

00:53Many Italians blame the lack of state support for the plummeting birth rate.

00:59If you don't even think about having children until you're 35, it's understandable that

01:03the birth rate is so low.

01:05First you can't afford children, then you're no longer fertile, and you can be glad if

01:10you have even one child.

01:12Women still have to choose between a profession and motherhood, and in my opinion, that affects

01:17the birth rate.

01:20It's 7 a.m.

01:21So what's the Galeanos' daily routine?

01:28It may look a little chaotic, but this morning routine's been established through years of

01:32practice.

01:35Breakfast is milk and cookies.

01:37Alessandra and Antonio, the two oldest, like to have that.

01:41It's normally not an important meal for our family.

01:43I don't have breakfast at all, for instance, before I leave.

01:46My husband and I both just drink a coffee.

01:51They get dressed, have breakfast, pack their bags, and in 40 minutes they're ready to go.

02:02We don't think it's important for the kids to have trendy clothes for school.

02:06The main thing is, it's comfortable.

02:12The children have to wear a uniform for school.

02:14The collars indicate what grade they're in.

02:16Generally, it's Giuseppe who takes the children to school on the way to work.

02:29In Italy, it's still the exception for the father to take this on.

02:34But someone has to take the kids to school.

02:36Some Italian regions do not allow primary school children to come to school unaccompanied.

02:44I think that's going too far.

02:45I bring them as far as the school.

02:47They're in second and third grade.

02:49They can go the rest of the way.

02:50I don't have to take them to their classrooms.

02:54Actually, it's not usual for the kids to go to school by themselves.

03:00Silvia uses the time when her kids are in school to run some errands.

03:03She visits her father-in-law in his butcher shop and picks up some things for dinner.

03:15In Italy, there's always time for another cup of coffee, which Silvia drinks before

03:21she goes to work.

03:23She used to have a manager position, but now she works half days in a doctor's practice.

03:31Professionally, I had to give up everything when I became a mother, everything I used

03:36to do and everything I studied for.

03:41I did that deliberately and looked for a job that allowed me to be gainfully employed and

03:46also be a mother.

03:51School is out at four o'clock sharp, and the children have to be picked up, a problem

03:56for anyone who works later.

03:58Either the grandparents have to help out, which is customary in Italy, or other child

04:02care has to be arranged, and that can be expensive.

04:05Silvia is home with her children after school.

04:12The typical Italian mama is like a thistle, because she clings to her kids obsessively.

04:20A mama italiana clings to her kids until they're 30 years old.

04:27We do try to do it differently, even if it doesn't always work out.

04:31Yes, mama is a babysitter, an ATM, a clown, a teacher.

04:45But in one sense, the Galianos are a very typical Italian family.

04:49To Italians, mealtimes are the most important part of the day.

04:53They're a time of togetherness and sharing.

04:58After dinner, the children can watch TV while Silvia and Giuseppe have a little time to

05:02themselves.

05:03Family is the most important thing in the world.

05:07Without family, it just won't work.

05:12These are ties that give us lots of strength.

05:20Their bedtime ritual is also well-established.

05:23And so, another day for a more or less typical Italian family draws to a close.

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