**10. Final considerations**

The present study found that the participating families were similar because they shared the same culture, based on knowledge and familiarity with the Amazon forest, and could be distinguished based on gender social roles. Both the father and mother had their roles previously defined in the familial environment and surrounding community. Thus, the parental practices were different from those in urban centers and were more similar to rural communities because they were based on cultural prototypes aimed at the division of daily activities between parents and children and obedience in fulfilling domestic tasks, see [3].

directly influenced by the urban environment, we found different characteristics compared with traditional families, which is reflected by the speech of the matriarch (Vânia) who, although she is responsible for the house organization and care of the children, presented herself as the family leader who was responsible for day-to-day decisions. Thus, the father, despite being the provider, was not considered the family leader. This posture highlights the

Another important aspect to be emphasized is the fact that the children were able to finish their education in the capital because only up to the fifth year of elementary school (Cycle II) is provided on the island. Thus, we observed from the collected data that significant changes were introduced with regard to the children's beliefs about work, the future, and family. The daughters were allowed to study in the capital. Although they continued to perform routine domestic tasks, they spent more time in school and were encouraged to study and be prepared for paid work in the cities. Thus, marriage was no longer the main goal of the teenagers.

Another important point concerns the detachment of the father from the domestic environ‐ ment. [3] indicated that the occupational roles marked by gender specify that men be engaged in activities that require physical strength and detachment from the home. In the case of riverine families, separating activities and social relationships between boys and girls is common. A boy's job is to help gather açaí (an Amazonian fruit base of their diet), process it, prepare it, and sell it, in addition to hunting and fishing. The girls should stay around home, and their learning is directed to domestic tasks that do not require high physical effort and do

With regard to fraternal subgroups, we observed the same pattern as in traditional Amazonian river families. Siblings of the same sex spent most the time together. The oldest, the majority of which were girls, were responsible for taking care of the young. The oldest, when not at school, helped the adults with domestic tasks, açaí gathering, and fishing. They were also seen

Thus, the Piriquitaquara community consists of intermediate characteristics between two welldefined contexts: urban and traditional Amazonia riverine. The incorporated family inherited the traditional way of life, combined with influences from the capital. They even relied on a set of services made available by the state and city, such as education, healthcare, and work. However, although Combu Island is considered a peculiar region from a cultural standpoint, it was composed of a peripheral scenario of strong local economic impoverishment, a common characteristic of all Amazonia riverine communities. Thus, the families studied herein were representative of hundreds of Amazonia riverine communities that survive by gathering forest

The present study found that the participating families were similar because they shared the same culture, based on knowledge and familiarity with the Amazon forest, and could be

flexibility of gender division in traditional communities.

110 Parenting in South American and African Contexts

not put them in situations of risk, such as falling and snake bites.

at different times playing or bathing in the river.

products within the context of poverty.

**10. Final considerations**

The children spent most of their time engaged in activities performed with siblings, and the presence of the parents was not common during these times. The time shared between the father, mother, and children only occurred through daily activities that were directed at the learning necessary to fulfill domestic tasks (e.g., SF, ES, and DT). The parents did not stay busy with the children. The mothers, despite always being present in the domestic environment, kept away from the children, and this trend increased as the children aged. The older children, normally girls, delegated the responsibilities of taking care of the young (i.e., CT).

The fact that the parents did not directly take care of the children does not mean that they were not concerned about the children's well-being or development. However, the concerns were more linked to obtaining food from the river and forest to ensure family survival. The paper of [6] indicated that what the parents do or do not do only makes sense if the specificity of the context where they are inserted is understood.

Living in the middle of the Amazon forest requires that the Amazonia riverine parents' actions are linkedtosubsistenceandthepracticaldirectionofdailyactivities that certainlyareunknown in urban contexts. Thus, although parental behavior is considered a task of universal develop‐ ment, the nature of this development is cultural [3,7]. Therefore, any kind of judgment about the best practices for children's' development can only be made by considering the values and beliefs of each specific group [6]. No parental practice should be evaluated in isolation, and there is no cultural standard that is better or worse for human development [5,6].

With the central objective of providing visibility of riverine communities, the present study sought to understand parenthood in such contexts, challenging assumptions that are consid‐ ered universal with regard to parental care. Moreover, our goal was to compare families in transition communities. According to [3], this helps to better understand how communities are transformed over time based on contextual changes and parental needs to provide essential care for children in an ever-transforming world.

The Piriquitaquara community on Combu Island can be considered a community in transi‐ tion [3]. For many years, it stopped living exclusively in a traditional way. The closeness with urban centers located on the other side of the riverinfluences the way of life of its residents who participate in social institutions that arepresentin the cities, sharing commercial exchanges and absorbing typically urban values and beliefs.

The parental practices also adapted to these changes, but this does not mean that they became practices toward autonomy, which is common for parents in urban contexts. However, they no longer reflect the totally prototypical interdependence of rural communities. Something is changing. Some indicators ofthis transformationhave arisenfromthe flexibility ofthematernal role because the mother in the family studied herein was the leader who made the family's decisions. Even the children, including the girls, were encouraged to continue their education in the urban context.

We conclude that the status of social exclusion in riverine people and the difficulties of their routine are related to the fact that they have stayed in the Amazon forest for such a long period of time. Their routine expresses a way of thinking about parenthood in a specific way, which can cause a series of difficulties linked to health, education, and development, which can and shouldbe remediedbyfederalandlocalpublicpolicies.Therefore,thepresent studyalsosought to make Amazonia riverine communities more visible. The lack of public policies directed toward riverine citizens impedes the quality of life in their particular environment.

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Notable is the relevance of the present study and several other previous studies developed by the Laboratory of Ecology of Human Development, which provided information about Amazon riverine communities that are separated by rivers from the urban centers of the cities to which they belong. Therefore, we seek to contribute to the development of public policies that are compatible with the social organization and symbols of their social groups to improve the quality of life of these populations that are isolated and impoverished.
