3 reasons why this single mother of 2 daughters left California for Lisbon – Children

In 2023, Aisha Canfield, an American woman, decided to exchange California, in the United States, for Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. A single mother of two girls, the oldest 6 years old and the youngest just shy of turning 2, the woman got tired of the individualism of North American society, packed her bags and landed in our country.

The idea was not sudden, he told “Business Insider”. “I was already thinking about moving to Portugal when I was still married and my first daughter was very young. The end of my marriage and the birth of my second baby destroyed the structure I hadand the loss of life as I knew it opened up space to dream again”, recalled Aisha Canfield to the same publication.

And why Portugal? “I had already been here a few times and felt attracted by the value of the community. In the United States, the individualism you feel makes parenting very complicated, especially as a single mother.. There is a shame in being single mothers, and an exaltation of professional life, where we are expected to work with the same intensity as if we didn’t have children, but, at the same time, we are expected to raise children as if we didn’t work.”

These are the three reasons why this single mother believes that Portugal is a great place to raise children.

1) Security

“As a homosexual woman, I wanted to live in a place where I had rights, community and security”, said Aisha Canfield, who highlighted the importance of feeling that her daughters are safe in Portuguese schools.

“My daughters being able to sit in class and learn without the threat of being murdered was the driving force behind us leaving the US. The oldest was 4 years old and, in kindergarten, had already participated in simulacrum shootings. The idea that gun rights are more important than children’s rights is inconceivable,” said the mother.

2) Children are integrated into their parents’ lives

In Aisha Canfield’s opinion, younger children are much more integrated into the routines of their Portuguese parents than their North American counterparts. “In the US, parents are always separating everything and trying to balance life with and without children. In Portugal, children of all ages are in restaurants with their parents for hours, and many playgrounds have kiosks where parents can be having a drink while the kids play”, he said.

3) There is concern for families and mutual help

“In Portugal, I’ve been invited to several homes where I’m not expected to take anything at all except my hungry daughters. I’ve had people bring me meals and groceries home without expecting anything in return. Children are so respected people who have often let me go ahead in supermarket queues if the girls are restless or throwing a tantrum”, recalls Aisha Canfield.

The North American also highlighted the facilities that Portugal offers to families. “At the airport, there is a queue just for families. When the staff realize that I am traveling alone with two small children, they help me with my bags”, she concluded.