Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/love-longing-linserimento-waving-good-bye/5015928/
�" Situation �"“Mommy, don’t go!
Please don’t go.
I want to be with you.”
“I don’t want to go to school!
I hate school!”
“Don’t leave me, Daddy.
I need a-noth-er
h-u-u-g-g . . . ”
(Hiccup. Sob.)
�" Solution �"
Not So Sweet
How does a parent ever get out the door with pleas like these echoing in her head? Shakespeare might refer to parting as ‘sweet sorrow’ but few parents find saying “good-bye” to a tearful child ‘sweet.’
Parting is sad and hard.
Love, Longing, and L’inserimento
Waving ‘good-bye’ is one aspect of a larger process, the three parts of which are: ‘love,’ ‘longing,’ and ‘l’inserimento.’ ‘Love’ refers to “attachment,” that unique connection between a child and his parents. ‘Longing’ is about “separation,” in this case, the pain felt by a parent and child who must be parted.
“L’inserimento” is an Italian word, a rough English translation of which is: insertion, as a key being inserted into a lock. Another variation in meaning is of being “integrated.” Both of these meanings contribute to a larger emotional concept, that of being “connected through relationships,” referring to the caregiving environment and the people in it.
Finding the Key
Most of the thinking about a child’s transition into a new program revolves around “separation,” but ...