Being a mother in Quebec: the testimony of Anne-Marie, mother of two children

Anne-Marie (44 years old) was born in Montreal. She now lives in France with her husband Patrick. They have two boys: Étienne (13 years old) and William (13 months). They go to Quebec twice a year. She tells us about the life of Quebec parents, and that of their children. School, free time, family life… Anne-Marie tells us about life in Canada.  

In Quebec, children learn a lot by playing

“Does he still have homework?” », My mother, who was a schoolteacher, can’t get over it when she sees my eldest son. She tells me that he works too much but, paradoxically, that we are still on vacation. In Quebec, education has nothing to do with France. I also find the little French overwhelmed with homework, which does not exist with us. The system is not as cumbersome as it is here. We propose a lot of learning through the game, sports activities, and we adapt if the child is not very school. School ends early and the child can enjoy his afternoon and his parents, because Quebecers come home relatively early too. By comparison, the television news is at 18 p.m., we dine immediately and we go to bed early. When I see Étienne revise his checks at past 22 p.m., I tell myself that the day is endless for him.

Quebecers are very open

The child has an important place. In Paris, often, I have the feeling that we get in the way in restaurants with our strollers, and that everything is cramped. Quebec is making motherhood easy. We are offered high chairs automatically in shopping centers (which are numerous and practical when it is very cold), we find self-service strollers and pleasant and comfortable rooms to breastfeed, feed the baby thanks to micro- waves, change it … People are open and easy to approach. It seems to me that there is a real awareness of the other that I can hardly find here. On the other hand, it is American style: we do not breastfeed in public, we are kindly told to go to the locality. France therefore allows me to experience my breastfeeding in a more relaxed way, which I always continue with William.

In Quebec, the seasons punctuate life

I learned my job as a mother in France, but as soon as I return to Montreal, I try to reproduce what I experienced as a child and bring to my children all that this country has given me. Since he was 12 months old, my parents have welcomed Étienne for one month every summer. It is thanks to them that the cultural transmission takes place, and I will always be grateful to them. The seasons, very marked, punctuate our lives. Winter is magic and the cold does not stop us, on the contrary. Children live outside, even though the temperatures are extremely low. I realize when we go there that I am not well equipped. I see babies bundled up in adapted fleece blankets, in strollers with snow tires.

Children often sit in small sleds (what you call a “sled”) that parents pull across the sidewalks. The older ones put on their skates. I tried my first skates when I was 4-5 years old, like all the kids there, and I practiced figure skating. Today, my eldest son is enrolled in a hockey club in Paris, sliding is in our genes! ‘

Quebec moms are zen

Women who have children appear less stressed in Quebec, it must be said that they benefit from a long maternity leave. the medical monitoring is also lighter: only one or two ultrasounds. The state of mind is different. The last time I saw young mothers following a coach in the snow. They were all doing a postnatal fitness class running behind their stroller. I found it really cool. “Are we going to the park, mom?” Étienne once asked me. I looked at my little Parisian, and told him that we don’t go to parks here: we have land where we leave the children free, in spacious environments. They can become one with nature, that’s priceless!