When I first began working on this project, my goal was to explore common stereotypes surrounding child-rearing. My son helped me visualize these ideas as a way for us to spend time together. I created photographs based on familiar notions such as “Boys shouldn’t cry, ” “Boys should be strong, ” “Children should grow up in protected environments, ” or “A child is the center of the family and its most important member, ” among others.

At some point, however, my son refused to be photographed. He became angry and explained that he simply was not interested. I tried to understand what was happening. At the same time, I began noticing other “signals” he was giving me—running away, shouting, and expressing frustration.

In our society, such signals are often ignored or interpreted as signs of bad behavior or childish whims. Yet there is always something behind them—fear, hurt, anger, or another unmet need.

Then my son started hiding from me, revealing only a hand or a foot, as if inviting me into a game of his own making. At that moment, I realized that play is the most meaningful way to interact with a child.

I began asking him what he liked and disliked, what he enjoyed doing and what he could not stand. I decided to focus not on social expectations, but on my child himself.

At the beginning of the project, I was driven by the outcome. It did not occur to me whether my son actually enjoyed what I was asking him to do. But once I recognized his signs of resistance, I changed the way we interacted.

My son showed me his drawings, introduced me to his favorite insects, dressed up in a lizard mask, and built a house out of branches. Through these experiences, I came to understand that play—not prescriptive ideas about “how things should be”—is the primary tool for connecting with children.

What began as a project about “how to be the perfect mother and raise the perfect son” gradually transformed into a project about how to help a child grow up happy.

Book size: 10.5 × 21 cm

Structure: 5 sections of 10 pages each

Binding: Open-spine binding

Edition: Limited edition of 20 signed and numbered copies

Production: Each book is entirely hand-assembled.