Kids in Barcelona - Family and parents guide to activities, shopping, holiday apartments, events, health, schools and nurseries, babysitting and childcare, and playgroups in Barcelona.

The festival originates in 1830, when a baker from Gran de Gràcia promised Saint Medir that, if the he was cure of his illness, he would go to the saint's hermitage in the Parc de Collserola, on the 3rd of March every year. As the story goes, the baker was cured and he began to parade with his friends on this day, giving out sweets on the streets of Gràcia. The tradition gradually spread to the neighbouring areas of Sarrià and Sants.With the creation of the Federació de Colles in 1926, the festival became a major event, with hundreds of people following it and collecting sweets.

See the Events List for more information

Saint Eulàlia - The City's Heroine (2008-02-01)
Saint Eulàlia (circa 290-12 February 303), is the co-patron saint of Barcelona along with Saint Jordi. She was a thirteen-year-old Roman Christian was martyred in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians during the the reign of emperor Diocletian. It may well be that she was the same person as Saint Eulalia of Mérida, another child martyr who perished in a similar way.

The young Eulàlia refused to denounce Christianity despite being subjected to torture by the Romans, the severity of which including being rolled down the street in a barrel perforated with knives (or glass).  According to tradition, this was the same street now named Baixada de Santa Eulalia "Saint Eulalia's descent". Other horrific tortures inflicted upon her were the cutting off her breasts and crucifxion on an X-shaped cross which is often depicted in statues of her. Her final demise came through execution by beheading.

As the story goes, a dove flew from her neck after decapitation. This is where her story bears a direct similarity with that of  of Eulalia of Mérida, from whom a dove flew out of her mouth at the moment of her death. The two martyrs were also similar in age and year of death.

Eulalia is commemorated with statues and street names throughout Barcelona and she was originally interred in the church now known as Santa Maria del Mar in the Born district.   In 1339, her body was moved to a sarcophagus in the crypt of the then newly-built Cathedral of Santa Eulalia. The festival of Saint Eulalia is held in Barcelona for a week around her feast day on February 12th and is a particulary focused on children's activities. The festival  remembers one young girl's courage and endurance in the fact of adversity.

Please check the Events List for What's On during the festival.

Teacher Strike on 14th February
A teachers' strike on the 14th February will leave 700,000 children in Catalunya without school for the day.   The action will affect state schools in the region although some private schools are being encouraged to take part in the protest.  85,200 teachers have been called out on strike and it is possible that the Sindicat d'Estudiants, the Students Union, will join them.

Teacher unions are protesting against the privately run management of state schools which they believe commits more resources to Concertada (semi-private) schools and neglects the non-fee paying public schools. They are also concerned with legislation that is impacting the Education system, such as the upcoming law making school attendance at 3 years of age obligatory. 

4 New Public Guarderías to Open (02.02.2008)
In 2008, 4 new public nurseries, Escoles Bressol, will open in Barcelona, as part of a plan to double the number of places available in the city for children from 0-3 years.  The new schools wiill be Vallcarca in Gràcia , Putxet in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Poblenou Sant Martí and Zona Franca, in the districts Sants-Montjuïc.

Barcelona Carnaval (08.01.2008)
Carnaval kicks off at the end of the month and, if you don't think you will have the time or the creativity to make your kids' costumes, check out Fancy Dress and Party Shops for where to buy that special outfit. From local parades to nurseries, schools and local Civic Centre parties, they will be sure to get plenty of wear out of it. 

Carnaval itself almost certainly has its routes in pagan rituals and festivals. Today, it is yet another colourful Barcelona event to look forward to and being so early into the New Year is a time for the city to rid itself of post-Christmas blues.  The first Carnaval in Barcelona appears to have taken place in 1333. Despite the many changes to the way that Carnaval has been celebrated over the years, it still maintain its ideals of permissiveness, "anything goes" in terms of costumes and behaviour. Carnaval marks a time of fun and celebration before the austere period of Lent begins in the Christian calendar with its characteristics of abstienence and control. Activities and events around town - See Events List for details.

Carnaval : 31st January - 6th February
Barcelona Carnaval Parade: 2nd Februrary at 8.30pm

Breastfeeding Support in Nurseries (23.01.2008)
The Generalitat has issued information sheets to all public guarderías explaining the benefits of breastfeeding.  The information, compiled in collaboration with breastfeeding support groups, promotes the continuation of breastfeeding for an extended period. Nursery school staff are being encouraged to support mothers who wish to extract milk for their child once they have returned to the workplace.

With maternity leave in Catalunya remaining at 16 weeks, many  new mothers find themselves obligated to return to the workplace during the crucial first few months of a baby's life.  According to the WHO, breast milk offers the best start for a developing child. It is recommended exclusively for the first 6 months and, from then on, in combination with a balanced diet, up to 2 years of age.

Studies in Catalunya showed that in 2005, 80% of new mothers began breastfeeding their child, falling to 31.3% by the age of 6 months.  This compares to statistics for 1989 showing that 72% of mothers initially breastfed new borns and only 6.3% at 6 months*.
*Source: Generalitat de Catalunya

New Child Abuse Helpline (23.01.2008)
900 300 777 is the new telephone line service from the Generalitat of Catalunya that offers attention support to abused children. Infància Respon is a 24 hours, 365 days a year helpline for children who feel that they are at risk, threatened or need advice related to abuse.

The telephone service itself has been created as part of the new Generalitat unit for the prevention of child abuse, UDEPMI, which aims to give prompt and reliable support and help to children and adolescents.

Storytelling While you Shop (17.01.2008)
Until May, El Corte Ingles are holding storytelling sessions on the 6th floor of their Portal del Angel branch.  The activity takes place every Saturday at 12pm and features a different storyteller each week. On the 16th February May & Astrid will be telling the tale of "We're going on a Bear Hunt" in English. See All Events for details.

More English Taught in Schools (13.01.2008)
The Department of Education of Catalunya has embarked upon an initiative to make English language lessons available to all children from 3 years of age.  At school leaving age, pupils should have a level of English equivalent to the 3rd stage of the L'Escola Oficial d'Idiomes (The Official Language School).

This academic year, 486 schools across Catalanya, (378 Primary and 108 Secondary) have introduced this schemed into the curriculum.  At a cost of €221m, this raised level of English language learning is planned to be applied in schools throughout Catalunya by 2015.

As well as teaching English within the framework of language classes, the scheme also plans to introduce the teaching of other subjects in the language.  Pupils will begin English in P3 and may eventually be taught other topics in English such as maths and social sciences.  The plan requires the training of 15,000 teachers of whom 3,600 will be English teachers and 4,500 will be teach their specialised subject in English. To complement English teaching in schools, there could also be a greater number of summer camps and linguistic trips overseas whilst Catalan Television is considering broadcasting more films and programmes in VO (original version). 

The total number of foreign students in Catalan Schools has risen by almost 13% since 2000.  In the 2006-2007 academic year, 19,938 infant school pupils 53,920 primary school pupils and 35,901 secondary school pupils were non-nationals.  The fact that such a growing number of pupils entering school are Castillian Spanish or other language speaking is of current concern to the Catalunyan Department of Education which plans to introduce more measures to  enable the better linguistic adaptation of students and increase the effectiveness of Catalan teaching in schools. (source: Generalitat of Catalunya)

See also Alternative Schools and Nurseries.

Cognita Takes over British School (15.12.2007)
The British School of Barcelona in Castelldefels is now part of the Cognita schools group who own a number of private schools in the UK.  Cognita, whose chairman, Chris Woodhead was head of the National Curriculum Council as well as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, has created a new International Schools division which includes the Australian International School in Singapore, the Southbank International School in London and the British School of Barcelona. The new head of the British School of Barcelona is Tony White.  For more information about Cognita Schools, their management and strategy see http://www.cognitaschools.co.uk

New Children's Snow Park (09.12.2007)
The ski resort of Vallnord is opening a new Snow Park for children in Arcalis this winter, offering greater facilities for kids. The Snow Park, themed as a World of Gnomes, will have games and music providing a fun an educational environment for children to learn to ski. The Baby Club at Arcalis has also been renovated and now has more activities for children up to 4 years old.

The neighbouring resort of Arinsal will also be opening a remodelled "Snow Garden" which will offer more beginners lessons and space for kids in the Baby Club.

Science Museum Discounts (06.12.2007)

2007 saw the introduction of the Science Pass to coincide with Barelona, Year of Science. The pass, costing €18.50 was created to encourage people to visit some of the city's key science museums as well as to strengthen relations between the science centres involved in the scheme. It has now been decided to continue with the Pass, which is available at the tourist office and museum points of sale, on permanent basis.

See Barcelona Discount Cards

Children's Farm Opens (02.12.2007)
Schools and families may now visit Barcelona's recently renovated hillside farm of Can Mestres. The farm, run voluntarily by retirees, now has 300m2 of space dedicated to  environmental education. Children can learn how a farm works and see the 22  animals (incl. hens, goats and rabbits) at this unique green area in the district of Sants-Montjuic.

Can Mestres was first opened to the public in 1997 and has been renovated this year.  The farm is divided into 52 different allotments of 40m2 which are all run by retirees.

The farm is open to visitors at weekends between 9am and 2pm and is located at 132 C. del Foc on Montjuic.

Greater Financial Help for  Single Parent Families (01.12.2007)
Single parent families with more than 2 dependent children will now be entitled to the same benefits as families that are "numeroso", generally speaking, having more than 6 children.  The number of single parent families in Spain whether through personal choice, divorce, separation or widowhood, currently stands at 403,000, (1.4m people).

This figure grew by 50% during the 10 years from 1991-2001.  87.3% of single parents are women and in 40% of cases these families live on the poverty line showing an annual income of less than €9,000 per anum. The percentage of children from single parent families that continue on to further education is also less than that of children from 2 parent families.

Spain Adoption Leader (01.12.2007)
Spain has seen more than 23,000 adoptions over the last 5 years whic makes it along with Sweden the leading country for adoptions relative to the population.  The nation with the largest total number of adoptions is the United States.