Shakira has asked the media to let her son Milan have “as normal a childhood as possible”, and to cease reporting on him now that he is no longer a baby.

Colombia’s global pop sensation gave birth to Milan in January 2013, and posed with the baby and partner Gerard Pique for photos which were posted on UNICEF’s web page to raise funds for the UN’s children’s agency.

Shakira told Spanish newspaper ABC that she has enjoyed being able to share photos of the child with “fans and with the people who have always supported us” in the first months of her son’s life, but she now wants Milan to grow up with some privacy.

She added that the child “still doesn’t realize that Gerard and I are famous”, because he doesn’t yet realize that other children’s parents aren’t also on television.

Barranquilla-born Shakira met Pique at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in 2010, and the couple live together in Barcelona where Gerard plays center-back for Barcelona FC. They are currently expecting the birth of their second son due in January.

In 1997 the singer founded the Barefoot Foundation which provides education and meals for 4000 children in displaced and vulnerable communities across Colombia. The star is the highest-selling Colombian musician of all time, having sold more than 75 million albums.

MORE: Shakira’s family announces 2nd child will also be a boy

Sources

• Shakira pide a la prensa que deje a su hijo tranquilo (El Espectador)