Abstract

This article problematizes work practices with children, analyzing especially adult-centric practices and the ways in which they characterize public policies aimed at childhood in Brazil. Our study was based on the cartography method, which made it possible to monitor the uncertain psychosocial landscapes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It used methodological concepts from Institutional Analysis and the Sociology of Childhood, which intersected with elements of Afroperspectivist philosophy, such as represented among the Ibeji and the Erês. The methodological tool adopted was the Conversation Circle, carried out online, which operated as a group apparatus characterized by welcoming and sharing, where it was possible to gather and analyze data on adult-centric practices among workers from different public agencies in health, social assistance and education, aimed at children in the state of Espírito Santo. Research diaries were also produced, which were referred to in the analytic process. The text identifies several aspects of Erean adult’s views of childhood, and offers insight into the knowledge and practices that contribute to the process of becoming-Erê, a possibility that can be exercised at any stage of life.