In my life I have ties to three countries. Italy, Canada and Belgium. I’ve already done an interview with a Canadian and an Italian family and now it’s time to hear about daily family life in Belgium. These three countries mean a lot to me and have three very different cultures. Like I’ve said in the past, we’ve adopted different aspects of all three cultures into our daily routine and it really seems to work for us. My kids eat dinner relatively early like in Canada, eat chocolate for breakfast like in Belgium and they eat gelato every day in summer like in Italy.
For my Belgian interview I immediately called my sister-in-law Julie. Julie and I have a lot in common and have known each other for more than 15 years. We met as young and innocent (!) university students and now we have 6 kids between us and have both opted for the stay-at-home-mother route in family life.
Julie lives in a beautiful house that is full of colour and style. They’ve slowly renovated it over the years and they were even on a house make-over show in Belgium showcasing their kid’s room in the attic (gorgeous!). They just welcomed their third child a few weeks ago so they’re busy to say the least (this interview was before little Billie arrived). And can I just say that Julie and Michael’s kids are absolutely gorgeous? And I’m not just saying that as a proud aunt…they’re seriously beautiful (and funny)! Let’s take a look at what their life is like…
What country do you live in?
Belgium.
Are you and your husband the same nationality?
Yes.
How many languages are spoken in your house? What one(s)?
One, Dutch.
How many kids do you have? What are their ages?
Two and a half. Corneel is 4, Rosalie is 1 and there is a little one coming up in August.{Jillian: Little daughter Billie was born on August 29th!}
At what age do kids start school in your country?
At 2,5, but we only send them when they are 3.
During the school year what time do your kids usually wake up?
Around 8 o’clock. Rosalie wakes up around half past 7.
What do your kids typically eat for breakfast?
Toast and jam or breakfast cereals and Rosalie still has a bottle of milk. On Sundays Corneeltje eats some slices of sugar bread with raisins … his favourite! {Jillian: I have to add here that most Belgians start their day with chocolate. Whether it’s a chocolate spread, chocolate sprinkles or actual pieces of chocolate on bread…it’s a Belgium custom that wasn’t too hard for me to adopt!}
What time does school start? What time does it finish? What is the weekly school schedule?
It starts at 8.45 and finishes at 4 every day except for Wednesday, then it also starts at 8.45 but it ends at 12. On Saturday and Sunday they have the day off.
Do your kids learn a second/third language at school? From what age?
Yes, they learn French from the age of 9 years old.
