Abstract
In a rapidly globalizing Mayan community in Guatemala, 30 young mothers reflected on changes in children's lives since their own childhoods, in semi-structured interviews that were part of a 30-year longitudinal study. Their accounts indicated that children now have reduced opportunities for convivencia (togetherness), a practice valued by many Indigenous communities across the Americas. Some of the challenges to convivencia that the mothers discussed included children's reduced participation in family and community activities, limited interaction with parents, extended family, and peers, and increased solitary activities like cellphone use and homework. In addition, the mothers reported that children's initiative to help with household work has declined compared to previous generations. We connect these changes that the mothers reported with community shifts that have been changing across longer than these mothers' lifetimes: dramatically increased schooling and parents' paid work outside the home and a marked drop in the number of children per family. Although some mothers pointed out some changes that they felt were positive, on the whole, the mothers were concerned about how the changes were impacting their children's development.