Queen Rania Joins Children and Mothers of Hai Nazal to Celebrate Mother's Day

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Amman) Amidst crayons, and cutouts, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah joined children and their mothers from Hai Nazal to celebrate Mother's Day. 
 
Over 200 children were gathered at the Community Center Association (CCA), preparing greeting cards and other handicrafts for their mothers, when Queen Rania joined them. The children, already excited as they were participating in the day's events at the center, welcomed the Queen enthusiastically by tossing balloons and confetti as she walked in. 
 
When they first learned that the Queen would be visiting the center, the children prepared a greeting card, which they signed and presented to Her Majesty upon her arrival. Queen Rania thanked the children and said how touched she was to receive the token, and for the effort in preparing the beautiful card. Her Majesty then joined the children at their tables to work on the gifts they were preparing for their mothers. 
 
While at the center, Queen Rania also participated in a dialogue session on how to bridge the gap between mothers and their adolescent daughters. Firyal Saleh, Director of the CCA, noted that Wednesday's discussion was the third in a series that has revolved around the generation gap between mothers and daughters, how to build trust between mothers and daughters, and how to open the channels of communication between them. 
 
One of the mothers said that before participating in the dialogue sessions, her and her daughter argued a lot and a rift had begun to develop between them. The dialogue sessions, though, have helped both mother and daughter overcome misunderstanding and work towards building an open and trusting relationship. 
 
A prevalent issue amongst the adolescent girls was that they felt their brothers received preferential treatment and more attention than they did. Instead of being passive aggressive about this issue, the dialogue sessions have taught them to be open and honest about such feelings and work with their mothers on such issues.
 
Queen Rania said that although such preferences do exist in our culture, children need attention and care to grow into confident and productive members of society. "We need to make sure that our girls, especially, receive the necessary care and attention at home."
 
Although the session tackled some serious concerns, the demeanor of everyone involved in the conversation was very relaxed, especially as they received some words of advice from the Queen. "We all worry for our children, and want the best for them… the most important thing is to keep the channels of dialogue open amongst mothers and daughters, so that together you can confront your issues together." 
 
On the occasion of Mother's Day, the CCA recognized five distinguished mothers who have benefited from the center and changed the lives of their families through the skills they have attained. Queen Rania presented the mothers with gifts and commended their efforts in striving to improve the lives of their families. 
 
The mothers, all of whom are inspiring examples of women in Jordan, each had a heartening story to tell. Either through setting up a small business, or working in vocational fields, the mothers worked to enable their children to graduate from various universities in the Kingdom. The women all utilized the various services at the center, which offers vocational training courses among other things. 
 
Upon leaving Her Majesty noted how much she enjoyed her time with the mothers and children at the Hai Nazal center and hoped to be able to interact with more mothers throughout the Kingdom on such occasions.