Xess Xava in his school football uniform: “Just like my dad”

In her column, Iolanthe shares her experiences as a single mother and working woman in Los Angeles. This time he writes Oh, I’m growing!Star about the differences between schools in Holland and America. Although her son has never attended school in the Netherlands, Iolanthe notes that there is a strong interest in playing sports in America. “I think alternating between sports and regular lessons is good for concentration. During sports lessons, you can lose some energy and then have full focus again on the maths lesson,” she concluded.

Iolanthe also sees this as having a positive effect on Xess’ relationship with his friends: “You get to know each other better when you play a game than when you do language lessons (…) Xess smiles when he comes home from school.” And this makes me the happiest mother in the world.

But the biggest difference between Holland and America, she says, is that children in Los Angeles go to school in uniform. “Children don’t judge each other based on clothes, because it’s the same for everyone. I think that has something to do with it,” continues Iolanthe.

For a change, there is also a regular ‘Free Dress Day’, where kids go to school in the clothes of their choice. And three guesses for what Xess likes to wear: Football uniforms, just like his dad’s. The 7-year-old dreams of spending his days on the soccer field later on. “I want to be a professional soccer player when I grow up,” he tells his mother, Iolanthe, in her column.