Caring for the Young Child: Foundations for Healthy Development
Cradled in the womb, the developing child is protected by the mother. This is the time when she has the greatest physical influence. From this hidden world of heavenly movement and song, the baby leaves the total influence of their mother at birth and takes their first breath of soul, one to last a lifetime, to be exhaled at the threshold of death.
The small child is inwardly trusting and sensitive to all their surroundings. In these early childhood years (from birth to the commencement of the second dentition) the principles of imitation and the unguarded absorption of sense impressions are all-important processes through which the child learns. It is through imitation that they will create the very fabric of their being. It is therefore of the utmost importance that what surrounds the small child must be worthy of that imitation. Our approach, in Steiner schools, is to be in awe of the being of the small child and take especial care to create a venerative environment for the child in those years.
In the first seven years of the child, everything impresses upon their physical development. This fact must be taken in all seriousness, as the individual must live his whole life with the organs that have been developed between birth and the change of teeth. This is the period when the will is adapting itself in many ways to its surroundings. It is also the time when skill, persistence, endurance, bodily strength and the ability to concentrate, are implanted for life.
The small child is inwardly trusting and sensitive to all their surroundings. In these early childhood years (from birth to the commencement of the second dentition) the principles of imitation and the unguarded absorption of sense impressions are all-important processes through which the child learns. It is through imitation that they will create the very fabric of their being. It is therefore of the utmost importance that what surrounds the small child must be worthy of that imitation. Our approach, in Steiner schools, is to be in awe of the being of the small child and take especial care to create a venerative environment for the child in those years.
In the first seven years of the child, everything impresses upon their physical development. This fact must be taken in all seriousness, as the individual must live his whole life with the organs that have been developed between birth and the change of teeth. This is the period when the will is adapting itself in many ways to its surroundings. It is also the time when skill, persistence, endurance, bodily strength and the ability to concentrate, are implanted for life.