Children and schools

The Spanish love children and they take them everywhere with them. Especially in summer you see children playing in the streets, while parents sit on a terras having a drink. Children are touched much sooner by strangers and don't look suprised if you are in an elevator and an old man sticks his head in your stroler to take a closer look at your offspring.

Although the Spanish love family life, the birth rate is one of the lowest in Europe and it’s mainly kept up by the immigrants. A Spanish mother got 1,37 children, but this should be 2,1 to keep the growth of the population stable. Therefore the government introduced a bonus of 2.500 Euros for every new born child (for this you must live in Spain for 2 years or more). This incentive raised the birth rate in 2008 to the highest in 20 years (1,46).

Maybe because there aren't that many children born, the Spanish like to spoil their children a little with toys and food. Spanish children are - after English children - the heaviest weight-wise in Europe. Lot of grandparents look (partly) after the children, because in most coples both father and mother have a job. More and more it also because possible for children to stay in school or daycare whole day, including the warm lunch. The school holidays are approximately three months in summer, during which a lot of children go to a variety of activity camps.

Schools and day care is well organised in Spain and relatively cheap. Children go to school at least until they are 16 (they all stay at the same level). After that they can get a job (possibly with internal study) or they can stay for 2 more years to prepare for university (bachillerato) for which they need certain grades. In general the level is a little lower than in Northern Europe and a little more conservative. On certain school children wear uniforms and most of these schools are private, international or from the church.

The children’s communion is very important even though most parents don’t go to church. Most children are named after a catholic holy person and therefore have a sort of second birthday, a name-day (until recently the Spanish were even obligated to give their child a catholic name). Christmas isn’t celebrated that much as in Northern Europe, but all (children’s) presents are given on Three Kings on the 6th of January, which is the most important celebration for children. 

In Almunecar, Malaga and Rincon de la Victoria are international private schools. In Nerja there're all kinds of daycare centres, primary and secundary schools.

- Colegio Público Joaquin Herrera, C/Antonio Ferrandis-Chanquete
- Colegio Público Narixa, Avda.Pescia
- Colegio Público San Miguel, Avda.Castilla Perez
- Colegio Virgen de las Maravillas, San Miguel 1
- Colegio Fuente del Baden
- Colegio Nueva Nerja, San Antonio 2
- Colegio El Chaparil , C/ Chaparil
- Colegio Almijara, Avda. Pescia
- Colegio Fuente del Baden