Table 3.

Quality of care subthemes.

Subtheme	Definition	Lilia and Flor	Gabriela and Eugenia	Noe and Gerardo
Creating an affective environment	Providing a sense of love and protection to the child through physical contact and verbal expression and/or during play, daily routines and learning situations	Storytelling to the girl about her story Communicating through gazing	Pampering the children with food and play Rejoicing in twin’s achievements	Constantly telling Karina that they love her Tickling her and rolling Fostering a loving and guarding circle
Being available	Organizing schedules in order to be present and accessible to their children	Involving and giving undivided attention during playtime	Organizing flexible schedules for the children’s benefits	Seeking for free time in order to be with her
Acknowledging and expressing emotions	Becoming aware of their own emotions and the importance of teaching their children how to identify them	Recognizing when one is tired Respecting Karina’s negative emotions	Avoiding yelling at the twins so they do not get scared Setting limits when the boys hit each other	Balancing annoyance and irritation toward tantrums vs. coherent consequences (“time out”)
Perceiving, interpreting and responding adequately to the child’s real self	Remaining attentive to signals and interpreting the child’s negative behaviors in a flexible way in order to respond satisfactorily	Conceptualizing crying as something necessary Self-restraining and approaching to the girl gradually	Differentiating perceptions and making adjustments with Paulo and Gabriel Setting rules and limits that are aligned with the children’s level of development	Testing hypotheses to get to the cause of the girl’s annoyance Diverting attention during tantrums
Taking the child’s perspective into account	Recognizing and respecting the differences between the children and recognizing their worth for their own rights	Explaining the rules Respecting her own individuality Allowing her to choose	Making attributions and explanations for the twins, “even when they do not speak yet” Respecting their children’s needs (e.g., nap time)	Fostering autonomy by assigning tasks and responsibilities that are aligned with her age Negotiating and providing explanations
Agreeing on roles and dividing the tasks	Consenting and organizing to take differentiated roles between the couple and for the upbringing duties along with a support network	Flor taking on most of the upbringing activities	Involving in different activities (driving them to school, shower time, putting them to bed) even though Eugenia works business hours	Gerardo playing the role of the family’s main provider