"Imagine not offering babies any toys until they find their hands for play," Deb Curtis writes in her book, Really Seeing Children. "My mind started spinning as I heard Janet Gonzalez-Mena describe this approach used by the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary, where they have documented over 75 ways that babies learn to use their hands for play.
"This is such a different emphasis than what I often see in early childhood programs and homes in the United States. Babies are regularly surrounded by colors and images on walls and fabrics, along with toys that beep, rattle, and flash...
"I have a wonderful collection of open-ended materials...Although I am always thoughtful to avoid over-stimulation, as well as to ensure the materials encourage children to be the inventors of their work, the story of the Pikler babies and their hands challenged me to rethink my practice...In my desire to give children all they need to grow and learn, am I giving them too much?"
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentCSBC
Denver, CO, United States
I think we have this entire issue wrong! We talk about giving children toys and other forms of stimulation, overstimulating them, and "Intentional teaching" - i.e. selecting what children need to have. This is A-backwards! Let the children decide! A child will not choose to be overstimulated, any more than she will choose to be bored. Let the child explore a rich, interesting, and challenging environment! Let her decide what to interact with (so long as it is save). We should not make this decision for the child.
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