Eliana Chrysikopoulou needs no introduction. A journalist for many years in magazines and on television, people have loved her for her intelligence and the humane way she comments on current affairs through Eleni Menegaki's show, which she has participated in for years. Eliana is a mom to two wonderful little girls, Isabella and Victoria who are growing up alongside a dynamic, emancipated working woman who has taken on a variety of roles in work and personal life like most of today's moms. We caught up with her between the studio and home to talk about her own experience of motherhood.
Who is your role model in raising girls?
I could go on for hours about what parts of attachment parenting I followed as a new mom, or what elements of positive parenting are present in our daily lives, but there really isn't a specific parenting model that I follow because I'm human, not a textbook. If we can say that a "model" is applied to raising girls, it is trial & error. I try, I make mistakes and through them I improve.
What do you not do as a mother that your own mother did that you don't think is generally consistent with motherhood today?
My mother was a wonderful mom, 100% "at home", which - fortunately or unfortunately - I am not. On the one hand, I never remember her being absent from my side or not immediately responding to my needs and desires, on the other hand, I never remember her playing board games on the carpet with me or taking me to the theatre or reading me fairy tales, as I do with my daughters. I am physically absent several times from their side, but when I am present I am deeply connected with them. The style of mother she was is fine with motherhood, but I'm not sure it's current, since most of us work, either out of necessity or personal desire.
How do you define a good mom?
The mom who constantly feels like she's not a good mom, she probably is.
You have two daughters growing up in a society where we constantly hear about femicide and systemic violence against women. How easy is it to talk to them about these issues? Are you somehow preparing them for the cruelty in the world?
I don't believe that gender-based violence has increased in recent years, but that as a society we are talking more openly about it, recognizing it, naming it properly and trying to eradicate it, initially through information. The information starts from a very early age, from home, from schools, from children's books, where we awaken the children using the appropriate language, of course. The other day, during bath time, where the rhyme with my six-year-old daughter is "get in the bath - no I'm not", she replied "it's my body, I decide about it". So I'm not worried about children coming out unsuspecting into a violent society - now I'm worried about them coming out overly suspicious and cynical.
After all, what can't a parent live without?
Without the certainty that his child is healthy, happy and safe.
What have you learned from your children?
Patience. And to look up at the stars.
I want you to choose three items from thewonderroom.gr that you consider a must-have for a parent?
The Wonder Toy Bin - Rainbow Blue
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