American mum-of-three, Erin Monroe, recently travelled to Portugal for the first time ever, and was quick to notice the different way children behave in the European country compared to in the US
Exploring new corners of the globe is a fantastic opportunity to gain insights into diverse cultures and lifestyles. However, an American mum was taken aback by the contrasting attitudes towards children during her recent trip to Portugal.
Erin Monroe and her husband embarked on a journey from JFK airport in New York for a child-free holiday. This marked Erin’s first ever international travel experience, and she shared her anticipation and nerves with her 249k TikTok followers ahead of their Portuguese getaway. Once settled in the European country, Erin quickly noticed a significant cultural difference, which was that children’s behaviour varied greatly between Portugal and the US.
“I’m gonna be that guy right now, but my husband and I are in Portugal right now. And I’ve never been to Europe in my life, so this is a new experience for me,” Erin said at the start of her video, which has since amassed over 1.1 million views.
She continued to share that she is a mother of three children aged 12, 10, and six, who remained in the US while she and her husband enjoyed their holiday. However, she expressed her regret at not bringing them along after learning about the child-friendly culture in the country.
“And the culture around kids is so different here than it is in the States. Like the kids are just everywhere, they’re just a part of everything,” Erin said.
She went on to describe how she and her husband had enjoyed their dinner at an upmarket restaurant in Cascais, Portugal, the previous evening. Despite the sophisticated setting and atmosphere, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that children had spontaneously begun a football match in an open space by the restaurant.
“And there were just kids playing soccer at this little open area next to the restaurant. And I loved it,” Erin said. “They were just playing soccer with each other and then the other interesting thing, and this has happened several times here, there are so many different languages spoken here.”
She then claimed that amongst the eight youngsters kicking a ball about, she could distinguish at least four different languages being spoken.
“There was one older kid who was actively translating for the other kids who didn’t speak the same language. And it’s so interesting to me. Like, the language barrier isn’t really a barrier, especially for kids. Like, they don’t care, they’ll just play together,” she told her viewers.
Erin carried on with her observations, noting: “And the adults, are the parents were like watching, but like drinking their wine and eating their bread and like hanging out.
“I love it here. Are you kidding? I need to bring my kids here right this second,” she exclaimed.
The video’s comment section quickly filled with people sharing their experiences of Portuguese culture, especially regarding children.
One commenter shared: “I still remember all the random friendships that I made when we were out with my parents, kids that we were instant bff for those three hours that we were at dinner and then we never saw each other ever again.”
Another person questioned: “This is how kids learn to socialise. How do they learn it in the States?”
Meanwhile, a third individual expressed their appreciation for French customs, adding: “I love in France seeing teenagers go out to a civilised dinner together.”