Sunday, January 23, 2011

Boundaries from a parent

http://www.janetlansbury.com/2009/10/securing-boundaries-no-walk-in-the-park/

Dear Nursery Families,

The above article was sent to me by a trusted friend, familiar with my work in Waldorf education and with the wisdom of Loczy (from Hungary) that has come to America with Magda Gerber and the Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE). At first the article may seem strict, but there is a beautiful moment toward the end: a young child tells her mom that she was hoping she would set a limt.

Our children want us to be confident captains and zen captains, both in charge and at peace with what is. I remember many stories of how happy children were when their parents made the decisions. Kim John Payne does an excellent job of describing the choices we make. As parents, we make a lot of choices for our children as far as food, times to go to school, and the like. We leave our children as free as possible to decide how they will play with their toys or play objects. It is ideal to provide children complete freedom in choosing what imaginaive scenarios to create. They are also hoping we will set limits on behavior that becomes exclusive or otherwise harmful.

With warmth and light and striving for wisdom,

Willliam Geoffrey Dolde

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