SANTO DOMINGO – “Being a mother is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. It completes my life to know that I have raised three young people with values who can contribute to this society.”
This is how Karina Gutiérrez, a mother from Santiago and founding partner of Vetas Inmobiliaria, responds to El Inmobiliario , answering questions for the "Mothers" series, which this media outlet is conducting this week, in anticipation of Mother's Day on Sunday the 26th.
The real estate agent who became a mother at 23 is the mother of Maria Gabriela, 29, Luis Felipe, 27, and Maria Alejandra, 25.
“I encourage honesty, sincerity, empathy, and a love of work among my children. I think that in our country we live in parallel worlds: one where there are many responsible parents doing what they should be doing, with more involved fathers, and another world where children aren't being raised as they should be. We must close that gap through education,” Gutiérrez explains.
For Karina Gutiérrez, social media represents a new threat to parenting. (External source).
For the prominent real estate agent, the main threats surrounding parenting today remain the same as when she raised her three now-adult children: "drugs, alcohol which is so permitted and at the same time so harmful, and now something new and super dangerous is added: social media, which leads us all to spend more time on screens and live for appearances.".
Gutiérrez believes that the best parenting is that in which time and love are dedicated to the children, where they feel that they are the priority of their parents.
When referring to difficult situations she has faced in her role as a mother, she mentions the fact that two of her children have studied outside the city for a long time. “That has been the most difficult thing,” she notes.
She says that the model that inspires her to raise her children is to speak clearly with them, applying the system of consequences, "that everything has consequences and you must deal with them, in addition to respect and trust.".
Her advice to a young mother is to always make time for herself and to give lots of love to her children.
“You have to be your children’s cheerleader, always be there for them, and let them know that no matter what, they can always count on you. I read somewhere that I want to be the kind of mother my children can call without fear when they have a problem.”.
