I'm an American mom raising 2 kids in Italy. Parenting here is completely different.

The author said that raising her children in Italy is much different than her own upbringing in New York City.

Courtesy of Caroline Chirichella.

I was born and raised in New York City, but moved to Italy in my 20s.

Raising kids here has been very different than my American upbringing.

School lunches, schedules, and family involvement look very different here.

I was born and raised in New York City and moved to Italy when I was 24 years old.

For a little over twelve years, Italy has been my home, and I've built a life here.

I have two children, an 8-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.

Both of them have spent their entire lives in Italy.

I've never experienced raising children in America , but I was raised there and have a good understanding of American parenting.

And let me tell you, parenting here is a completely different story, with some of it being very surprising.

Of course, the food is different I still remember my days in public school in New York City.

My mom packed me healthy homemade lunches because you couldn't have paid me to eat what the school cafeteria was serving.

If I told you what my daughter eats at school in Italy, you would think she was dining at a gourmet trattoria.