**8. Routine of the Eduardo and Márcia Family, Araraiana Community, Ilha do Marajó, PA**

This is an extended family composed of the couple and their nine children, with the oldest child living in Ponta de Pedras, Ilha do Marajó, PA, with the maternal grandmother. Hence, in the house lived Beto (30), Márcia (age unknown), and the children Paulo (15), Raissa (13), Tamiris (12), Célia (10), Geisa (6), Inaiara (5), Nanci (3), and Ana Paula (1). These are fictitious names, and the ages refer to the time of data collection. The family's living came from gathering açaí, fishing, and extracting other products from the forest.

Eduardo, the father, would wake up early, leave with his boat just after breakfast, and work by hauling and transporting goods. He would return at the end of the morning and afternoon. Overall, except in leisure times, which mainly involved playing soccer with his friends, his daily activities were spent alone. Márcia spent her day engaged in domestic tasks and physical care of the eight children with the help of her older daughters. Her routine was restricted to the house and surroundings.

The daughters, Raissa, Célia, Tamiris, Geisa, and Inaiara, went to school early, which was located in the house of one resident of the community (with only one room where all of the children from the community studied). In addition to studying in the same place, the people ate meals and shared several activities together. In the afternoon, they played in the surround‐ ings of their uncle's house, which was next to the school. In addition to helping the mother with DT and FS, the oldest daughters were in charge of taking care of the youngest. At the end of the afternoon, it was common to see them bathe in the river in front of their house.

The oldest son, Paulo, performed activities isolated from his siblings. In the morning, he engaged in ES and SF activities. In the afternoon, he went to school and on his way back he either played soccer with his friends or performed FS activities.

Family gatherings occurred at night when they had dinner together and shared leisure activities. The sleeping place depicted the organization of the family subgroups. The girls slept with the mother in the bedroom. The father slept in the living room, and Paulo, the oldest son, slept in the kitchen. Fig. 4 illustrates the family's routine.

The collected data revealed little sharing of activities between the couple because the division of activities was done by gender. The brothers formed different subsystems (Fig. 1). The oldest brother performed his food subsistence, economic, school, and leisure activities basically alone. Because of similarities in the school schedule with the five sisters (Raissa, Tamiris, Célia, Geisa, and Inaiara), this constituted a subsystem in the school and play time. Because of her important role in activities with her mother, Raissa was isolated from the group of sisters. Geisa, Inaiara, Nanci, and Ana Paula formed an affinity and playing activity subgroup, with Geisa, the oldest sister, playing the role of caretaker. On the weekends, the dynamics of the family changed, with the exception of Márcia who maintained her routine of domestic tasks. The father and son would visit friends in the community, the activities of which often involved eating lunch and having Sunday occupied by leisure activities. The girls played and bathed in the river but did not stop performing the DT, FS, and PC activities to support their mother.

Another important aspect related to parenthood concerns the fact that this community presented high incidences of extended families, which is consistent with a survival strategy of families in the rural context that has been present in Amazonia for centuries [16]. This occurs when the source of income is linked to extractive work. It is expected that several children

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**Figure 4.** Activities/tasks performed and subsystems involved in the B/M family during weekdays.

Consistent with this contextual characteristic, in the traditional model adopted, the oldest daughters were encouraged to learn, beginning at early ages, to perform FS and DT activities, stay with their mother all the time, and restrict their relationship networks to the domestic environment. Therefore, they precociously developed roles in which they were allowed to take care of the young and guide them in education and insertion to the surrounding community. This type of brotherly relation, marked by the care common in this community, differs from urban contexts where brotherly relations are more often conflicting, given that the cultural

prototypes emphasize individuality and low obedience [3,5,6].

would help with ES activities.

#### **8.1. The parenting in the family inhabitant of the Araraiana community**

The routine or care practices in this family were strongly linked by gender. The division of tasks and roles between men and women consisted of distinct status occupied by the spouses. The mother's role was to maintain the family through domestic tasks, such as taking care of the children and the family environment, cooking, plant cultivation, and raising animals. The father had the role of provider, taking care of economic activities and food subsistence. Thus, we did not see a time when the father performed activities that were directed at taking care of the children or living with his daughters. The division by gender allowed and encouraged the closeness of the father with the older son and almost totally restricted a closer relationship with the daughters.

Overall, except in leisure times, which mainly involved playing soccer with his friends, his daily activities were spent alone. Márcia spent her day engaged in domestic tasks and physical care of the eight children with the help of her older daughters. Her routine was restricted to

The daughters, Raissa, Célia, Tamiris, Geisa, and Inaiara, went to school early, which was located in the house of one resident of the community (with only one room where all of the children from the community studied). In addition to studying in the same place, the people ate meals and shared several activities together. In the afternoon, they played in the surround‐ ings of their uncle's house, which was next to the school. In addition to helping the mother with DT and FS, the oldest daughters were in charge of taking care of the youngest. At the end

The oldest son, Paulo, performed activities isolated from his siblings. In the morning, he engaged in ES and SF activities. In the afternoon, he went to school and on his way back he

Family gatherings occurred at night when they had dinner together and shared leisure activities. The sleeping place depicted the organization of the family subgroups. The girls slept with the mother in the bedroom. The father slept in the living room, and Paulo, the oldest son,

The collected data revealed little sharing of activities between the couple because the division of activities was done by gender. The brothers formed different subsystems (Fig. 1). The oldest brother performed his food subsistence, economic, school, and leisure activities basically alone. Because of similarities in the school schedule with the five sisters (Raissa, Tamiris, Célia, Geisa, and Inaiara), this constituted a subsystem in the school and play time. Because of her important role in activities with her mother, Raissa was isolated from the group of sisters. Geisa, Inaiara, Nanci, and Ana Paula formed an affinity and playing activity subgroup, with Geisa, the oldest sister, playing the role of caretaker. On the weekends, the dynamics of the family changed, with the exception of Márcia who maintained her routine of domestic tasks. The father and son would visit friends in the community, the activities of which often involved eating lunch and having Sunday occupied by leisure activities. The girls played and bathed in the river but

The routine or care practices in this family were strongly linked by gender. The division of tasks and roles between men and women consisted of distinct status occupied by the spouses. The mother's role was to maintain the family through domestic tasks, such as taking care of the children and the family environment, cooking, plant cultivation, and raising animals. The father had the role of provider, taking care of economic activities and food subsistence. Thus, we did not see a time when the father performed activities that were directed at taking care of the children or living with his daughters. The division by gender allowed and encouraged the closeness of the father with the older son and almost totally restricted a closer relationship

did not stop performing the DT, FS, and PC activities to support their mother.

**8.1. The parenting in the family inhabitant of the Araraiana community**

of the afternoon, it was common to see them bathe in the river in front of their house.

either played soccer with his friends or performed FS activities.

slept in the kitchen. Fig. 4 illustrates the family's routine.

the house and surroundings.

106 Parenting in South American and African Contexts

with the daughters.

**Figure 4.** Activities/tasks performed and subsystems involved in the B/M family during weekdays.

Another important aspect related to parenthood concerns the fact that this community presented high incidences of extended families, which is consistent with a survival strategy of families in the rural context that has been present in Amazonia for centuries [16]. This occurs when the source of income is linked to extractive work. It is expected that several children would help with ES activities.

Consistent with this contextual characteristic, in the traditional model adopted, the oldest daughters were encouraged to learn, beginning at early ages, to perform FS and DT activities, stay with their mother all the time, and restrict their relationship networks to the domestic environment. Therefore, they precociously developed roles in which they were allowed to take care of the young and guide them in education and insertion to the surrounding community. This type of brotherly relation, marked by the care common in this community, differs from urban contexts where brotherly relations are more often conflicting, given that the cultural prototypes emphasize individuality and low obedience [3,5,6].

Being prepared since childhood for domestic tasks, the traditional riverine women get married during adolescence, as opposed to the current urban perspective. Academic education does not appear to be important. Instead, education that ensures marriage and family maintenance is viewed as more important. In fact, in traditional societies, marriage is necessary for survival, and the woman's social role is to be mother and wife, such as in some communities in Oriental Africa [9,3].

Vânia concomitantly performed the SF, DT, and PC activities of Amanda. Around noon, the other family members returned home for lunch. Before eating, Maura took a bath in the river with Amanda during moments of PC and L. After lunch, Alexandre and Maura went by boat to the capital to study in a state school. At the beginning of the afternoon, João transported the students of the afternoon period. Vânia took care of the PC activities of Amanda and Laís, the principal partner of the youngest daughter. At night, everybody performed activities linked

Parenting in Amazonian Riverside Context http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57056 109

The distribution of the members during sleep followed a similar distribution as the family of the Araraiana community, in which all of the daughters slept in the only bedroom, and the

**Figure 5.** Activities/task performed and subsystems involved in the J/V family during weekdays.

metropolitan region of Belém where most of the relatives lived.

**9.1. Parenthood in the family who lived in the Combu community**

During the weekends, the family went on a boat trip to Vânia's mother's house, a place in the

In this community, the participating family presented a way of life with some characteristics common to traditionally isolated families, such as a strong familial bond, which is considered a survival strategy among families who live in the forest [16]. However, because they were

to L.

parents and oldest son slept in the living room.

In addition to the gender patterns that structure social organization and parental practices, the isolation status of the riverine families is also taken into consideration. The distance and poor access to services impose relationship barriers that make bond formation with other parts of the community difficult; thus, the daily routine has been maintained in a traditional way for centuries.

For comparison purposes, below we present data on the family who resided on Combu Island, an Amazon river region that is close to the capital Belém and not considered a typically traditional community, although it maintains characteristics of the Amazon river region.
