Among the many things I have come to love about living in Treviso is the love adults have for children. The Trevisani make every child, and parent, feel special.
When my kids were just little babies, strangers would abruptly stop us on the street to talk into our baby stroller. "Che spettacolo che sei!" they would say (meaning 'What a show you are!'). Honestly, the first time it happened I thought a nutcase was going to harm my child. But I grew to like it.
Funny thing is, we've become so accustomed to the love for kids here that we expect the same child-friendly treatment elsewhere. During a trip through Switzerland two years ago, we realized we weren't home in Treviso when we entered a restaurant for some famous Swiss fondue. Instead, we got the evil eye because we had two potential noise-makers with us.
But we are discovering that the kids love kids here too. When dropping off my three-year-old daughter at the local asilo nido (preschool) yesterday, my wife had to save her from Matilde, her bigger classmate. Matilde and all the others are convinced our little girl is a toy doll that can be carried around the room. Even fought over for who gets to play with her. Just weeks ago her elbow was dislocated when a classmate was pulling on her.
And the boys...well, it's just way too early for me to have to tell them to stay away. But I think I'm going to have a talk with little Marco and Giacomo who keep trying to kiss her every day because, "E' bella come una bambola!" Maybe this Italian love for kids should worry me after all.
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