In observing young children one can see that they are attracted to movement with such keen enthusiasm that they cannot sit still,  but must move and imitate what they have seen.  In the “Pedagogical Value of the Knowledge of Man and the Cultural Value of Pedagogy” Rudolf Steiner shares that “the little child clings with his perceptions to gestures, movements, and motion before all else and that when he perceives any kind of motion he feels the inner urge to imitate it”.  In this uninhibited mood they are lost in their surroundings with complete devotion, reverence and awe for what they experience.

 When the environment is such that the child can be surrounded with movement worthy of imitation, this innately religious devotion is cultivated.  Unfortunately, the many handy devices of modern technology hardly provided opportunities for this native capacity.  Instead it is helpful to use the more old fashioned devices, for example brooms, rakes, shovels, egg beaters, etc. which provide movement worthy of imitation.  It is also most helpful for the child to see an adult who approaches their task with joy and enthusiasm.  Daily tasks become inspirational as one realizes that the child can fully experience immersion in reverence and spiritual devotion to the task in the mood of the movement and activity and that this is an antidote to the modern mood of pessimism and sarcasm in adolescence.  The child experiences movement as an innately religious experience. This can be cultivated by  telling stories of fairies and gnomes or events of your life  with gestures and movement imbued with meaning.  Children love the movement and activity that fathers often provide.

 These old fashioned tools also provide an antidote to the noise that modern devices make.  In the formative years a child’s sensory system becomes overwhelmed by such noise. The ear’s capacity to hear becomes coarsened and the perception of the “Music of the Spheres” in the natural tones of birds, the wind, moving water, etc. are lost.A  fixation on mechanical noises can develop with a hardening effect on the organs.  A quiet time of blessing or prayer is helpful  where the attitude and gesture of the reverent adult reveals their inner life and counteracts the coarsening tendency of modern sounds.

 In Waldorf parenting and education attention to the subtle details of cultivating soul and spiritual values is emphasized.  These experiences of religious devotion in the imitation of the environment and of reverence and awe deeply felt in simple events become a wellspring of vitality for their health and wellbeing in adulthood.

 Knowing this you can create a daily rhythm which embraces the child being involved in simple household activities.  For instance, when they are puttering about under your feet as you make breakfast,  they could be exploring the nature of the material world.  Thereby they are experiencing spirit in matter, a gift which they have brought with them

from their recent experiences before birth in the spiritual world.  Eventually, they will be so inspired and interested in your activity that they will clamor to participate.  At that stage find ways for them to “help”, such as cutting bananas with a butter knife or buttering the toast.  They are not only learning the wisdom inherent in practical activities and perceptual and fine motor skills, but they are also learning the value of service to the family.

Here’s a little free audio for you I recorded at a live Waldorf teacher workshop in March. Titled “Working With Boys“, this recording gives insight into the minds of boys and how parents and teachers can work with them to bring out the best in them. Total time for this audio is almost 3 hours…so take your time and enjoy.

Edit: The volume is a bit low, so you may need to turn your volume up a bit more than normal.

Here’s a fun and informative talk I did titled Parental Guidance and Boundaries. Running time is 37:52.

A topic many parents have asked for help with is separation anxiety.

I believe that our thoughts and feelings have a great effect on children and that the following is helpful. Children thrive when they feel that an adult is lovingly in charge and models trust, confidence, kindness, caring and understanding with the underlying attitude,”I can handle this problem.”  They also benefit from the belief that they can be strong and courageous enough to overcome their fears.

Another helpful belief and reality is that there are Spiritual Beings, including the child’s own Angel, your Angel and Archangel Michael, here to protect and give courage. If your child needs help, call on these Beings. Language, such as, “I will always help and protect you and love and care for you and will be there to help you”, can support the transition. Generally speaking, our  joy and enthusiasm creates a mood where they can move out of the fearful state.

Another factor is that the world today is filled with an atmosphere of fear, worry, doubt and discordant beliefs. These do not align with the spiritual realities of our existence. The greatest assistance for you and your child is to cultivate your relationship to your Higher Being and then the Spiritual Beings can help  as they are very willing  to do. However, they will only help adults if we ask for assistance since they have great respect for freedom and individual initiative.

Children are very sensitive to the energies around them and so when parents have doubt and worry or concern that they not linger longer at drop off time, as fear is contagions amongst children. Most of the time the children and I go on to have a joyous day together with lots of humor and fun….so don’t worry!

We are a circle of love and support for the children and I look forward to our community learning and growing together.

Hello, Hello Moms!

Well, we noticed a bit of hitting today, a wonderful opportunity for our community to grow together. I would like to share my insights from the many years of working with this.

The very first thing I would say is do not worry and don’t be embarrassed, and do begin to apply your observational skills and intuition and form a long lasting relationship to your Angel and your child’s Angel to determine what would be the best approach for you and your child. The first reason I say not to worry is because it feeds what can become a pattern by creating a negative visualization, the so called ,”self fulfilling prophecy.” Your child will be best supported by holding a very positive picture of who your child is and what they will become, according to the values and ethics which are important to you. I am not advising going into denial about what your child has done, but taking a more positive approach to the issue.

The other reason I say not to worry is that hitting is a “normal,” behavior for 2-3 year olds, however it is unacceptable; normal for many reasons and mainly age related. They still live in the consciousness that the world is them and they have challenges sharing. They don’t understand the difference between animate and inanimate objects. They do not have the neurological development for impulse control nor for understanding cause and effect. They are toddlers, learning how to socialize. (Perhaps our culture is like toddlers learning how to socialize with the need to give up the bully complex.) They also do not have the necessary neural development to understand boundaries and to communicate their needs.

They can however, learn socially acceptable behavior, which I would describe as kind, considerate and caring with the ability to compromise and participate harmoniously.

Now, in the instance of your child, try to understand and empathize with what underlies their  behavior. You can apply this to other behaviors as well. A few of the reasons I would suggest off the top of my head are:

1. not feeling well, hungry, tired, teething, allergies, coming down with a seasonal illness.

2. need for nutritional support. At this age their nutritional needs begin to shift a great deal.

3. young impulse control capacity, often with an underlying developmental reason for such behavior

4. not aware of boundaries and feeling threatened.

5. inability to communicate

6. unfamiliar with the space and guidelines

Whether you come to some insight into who they are and what makes them tick, ask the Angels to assist, as you put them to bed at night, mainly as a silent interaction, and to have the answer upon awakening.

Regardless of what comes to you a helpful approach after your child has hit is to say, as you shake your head back and forth calmly and caringly, “ We do not hit.” You can add, if you need a stronger statement, “Mommy doesn’t hit, Daddy doesn’t hit, We don’t hit. Our hands are strong and helpful and kind,” demonstrating on your self the gesture. Gesture is one of the most important tools you can use, since often the visual pathway is stronger than the auditory pathway. It can also be helpful to model for them caring for the child who was hit or asking to have a turn, mainly demonstrating the appropriate action, since they learn mainly from imitation.If your child is unable to verbalize, I’m sorry, say it for them as a role model. When they are a bit older, which varies from child to child, you can expect them to say the words.

It is beyond your child’s ability to state why they did something. How often do we know truly why we do what we do, or even think of it? The reasons they do so are mainly developmental and not because they are mean, cruel, or any other morally challenged reason. They just need help from us by  understanding the underlying reason and providing the help they need developmentally or providing the nutrition, sleep,etc. that they need. It helps, too, if it is all done with a lot of love in your heart. Children are most aware of what you think and feel about them.

I was so happy to see that all Mom’s were alert and guiding their child, caring for others children and not being judgmental of the other’s child. It says a great deal about what fine parents you are and what wonderful role models. I look forward to our year.

Love, Ms. Vicki

I am very happy to have people forward these blog articles on to other parents and request that you acknowledge where they originated and/or link to my website.☺