from the Association Pikler-Lóczy Hungary...
The Relationship is a key principle in the 'Pikler Approach'...
"The outstanding importance of tactful and respectful care in the relationship of the infant and the adult caring for him is a less well-known yet important element of the Pikler approach."
- Anna Tardos
'Introducing the Piklerian Developmental Approach: History and Principles' published in The Signal, Newsletter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health. Vol.18. 2010
"The relationship between the nurse and the infants is formed in a planned way while she is caring for the children and not through the use of so-called organised activities. The greatest attention each child receives is during the time he is being dressed, fed, and cleaned, especially in early infancy."
- Dr Emmi Pikler
Data on Gross Motor Development of the Infant'
"Being together with the child during the care situation is full of happenings - when all needs are met with attention and respect, when the baby is not just regarded as an object that has to be cleaned and fed, but as a living human being who has an influence on what is happening, who takes part in building up a relationship as one of the partners." - Dr Judit Falk
'Some infomation about the the history of Pikler Institute', from the book 'Bringing Up and Providing Care for Infants and Toddlers in an Institution'
"The outstanding importance of tactful and respectful care in the relationship of the infant and the adult caring for him is a less well-known yet important element of the Pikler approach."
- Anna Tardos
'Introducing the Piklerian Developmental Approach: History and Principles' published in The Signal, Newsletter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health. Vol.18. 2010
"The relationship between the nurse and the infants is formed in a planned way while she is caring for the children and not through the use of so-called organised activities. The greatest attention each child receives is during the time he is being dressed, fed, and cleaned, especially in early infancy."
- Dr Emmi Pikler
Data on Gross Motor Development of the Infant'
"Being together with the child during the care situation is full of happenings - when all needs are met with attention and respect, when the baby is not just regarded as an object that has to be cleaned and fed, but as a living human being who has an influence on what is happening, who takes part in building up a relationship as one of the partners." - Dr Judit Falk
'Some infomation about the the history of Pikler Institute', from the book 'Bringing Up and Providing Care for Infants and Toddlers in an Institution'
Dr Judit Falk explains in this excerpt from her article 'The Importance of Person-Oriented Adult-Child Relationships and its Basic Conditions'.
Relatively little attention has been given to the importance of stability of personal relationships, and to what extent this can be realized. And yet it is common knowledge, almost a commonplace in psychological literature, that the supremely important and very rapidly attained developmental achievements of the child can only be organically assimilated in the developing personality, if all the experiences of the child are acquired within a stable system of relationships. Only if everything that happens to the child occurs in the framework of an actual contact, and in an interrelation which enables the child to become aware of the caregiver and of his own self, only then will the formation of his personal integrity and of his identity become possible. Such a stable system of relations is a precondition for the child to live through without impairment the frustrations necessary for the maturation of his personality, and this again is a precondition to the child’s ability to assimilate the society’s pattern of accepted values, its norms, its rules of behavior, its set of prohibitions, by means of imitation, assimilation, and identification. The strength and solidity of a moral basis depends on the depth and strength of the bond with the person who supplies the pattern, or raises the requirement. If the child lacks a love object, who is a true impersonation of the moral demands, he will be deprived from being able to identify himself with these demands. Only if such a relation exists, will the institutionalized child be apt to become a morally and socially independent being.
An except from 'The Importance of Person-Oriented Adult-Child Relationships and its Basic Conditions' by Dr Judit Falk (1977 / an article found in the book ‘Bringing up and Providing Care for Infants and Toddlers in an Institution’ P26)
Relatively little attention has been given to the importance of stability of personal relationships, and to what extent this can be realized. And yet it is common knowledge, almost a commonplace in psychological literature, that the supremely important and very rapidly attained developmental achievements of the child can only be organically assimilated in the developing personality, if all the experiences of the child are acquired within a stable system of relationships. Only if everything that happens to the child occurs in the framework of an actual contact, and in an interrelation which enables the child to become aware of the caregiver and of his own self, only then will the formation of his personal integrity and of his identity become possible. Such a stable system of relations is a precondition for the child to live through without impairment the frustrations necessary for the maturation of his personality, and this again is a precondition to the child’s ability to assimilate the society’s pattern of accepted values, its norms, its rules of behavior, its set of prohibitions, by means of imitation, assimilation, and identification. The strength and solidity of a moral basis depends on the depth and strength of the bond with the person who supplies the pattern, or raises the requirement. If the child lacks a love object, who is a true impersonation of the moral demands, he will be deprived from being able to identify himself with these demands. Only if such a relation exists, will the institutionalized child be apt to become a morally and socially independent being.
An except from 'The Importance of Person-Oriented Adult-Child Relationships and its Basic Conditions' by Dr Judit Falk (1977 / an article found in the book ‘Bringing up and Providing Care for Infants and Toddlers in an Institution’ P26)
from those inspired by Pikler...
The Relationship created between the adult and the child is the key. Dr Pikler's approach and choreography for the creation of that peaceful, trust-filled relationship is what makes her work genius.
The adult in the relationship acknowledges the child as a free and equal human being, an equal partner in the relationship.
The Relationship creates a safe place for the baby.
The Relationship combines respectful care moments along with respect for the child's need to move and unfold at his or her own pace.
The Relationship was what made it possible for shell-shocked war orphaned babies, who arrived at Lóczy in a state of stress, to relax and start participating in life again.
The Relationship heals separation and trauma.
The Relationship is what made Lóczy different from other any orphanage or institution - the children there showed no trauma effects such as head banging, rocking or not engaging.
In the relationship, the adult does everything 'with' the baby and does nothing 'to' the baby.
Susan Weber explains in this excerpt from her article 'The Work of Emmi Pikler'
The child enters earthly life by bonding with her mother and father and caregivers. Nowhere is this invitation more delicately extended than through daily caregiving, as Emmi Pikler skillfully observed at the Pikler Institute in Budapest. Here the newborn naturally spends long periods of time in intimate activity with the adults who care for her needs – feeding time, bathing, diapering, dressing – and each of these moments can provide a gentle invitation to the child’s soul to reach a little further into earthly life. When we are with the child, she yearns for full, undivided attention. Divided attention brings confusion and a feeling of isolation, no matter how subtle. She gets to know her ‘nest’ and looks forward to time together with the adults in her life. When the child is met with our mindfulness, quiet presence, and centeredness, she extends herself into the environment. Her self enters more and more deeply into her body as we communicate to the child over and over through our hands, our eyes, our voices that the world is good and that her existence is secure.
We can observe the progressive anchoring of the child’s self within the body in the simple care-giving moments. As early as five or six weeks of age, the child reaches out her hand and arm to ‘help’ the parent put on a sleeve, or lifts her legs to enable the diaper to be put on. This is more than mere sensory response: It is a deed of the child’s individuality. If we notice, respond with interest, wait with patience, the child will initiate more moments like this, and the child will respond in even more active collaboration. Our intimate interest is reciprocated, and the child becomes increasingly engaged in the daily substance of life. Her ego becomes increasingly active, expressing its presence in an individual, personal gesture. Pikler’s work makes these elements of the infant’s experience tangible and perceptible as active phenomena in the integration of the ego.
To read the full article click here.
The adult in the relationship acknowledges the child as a free and equal human being, an equal partner in the relationship.
The Relationship creates a safe place for the baby.
The Relationship combines respectful care moments along with respect for the child's need to move and unfold at his or her own pace.
The Relationship was what made it possible for shell-shocked war orphaned babies, who arrived at Lóczy in a state of stress, to relax and start participating in life again.
The Relationship heals separation and trauma.
The Relationship is what made Lóczy different from other any orphanage or institution - the children there showed no trauma effects such as head banging, rocking or not engaging.
In the relationship, the adult does everything 'with' the baby and does nothing 'to' the baby.
Susan Weber explains in this excerpt from her article 'The Work of Emmi Pikler'
The child enters earthly life by bonding with her mother and father and caregivers. Nowhere is this invitation more delicately extended than through daily caregiving, as Emmi Pikler skillfully observed at the Pikler Institute in Budapest. Here the newborn naturally spends long periods of time in intimate activity with the adults who care for her needs – feeding time, bathing, diapering, dressing – and each of these moments can provide a gentle invitation to the child’s soul to reach a little further into earthly life. When we are with the child, she yearns for full, undivided attention. Divided attention brings confusion and a feeling of isolation, no matter how subtle. She gets to know her ‘nest’ and looks forward to time together with the adults in her life. When the child is met with our mindfulness, quiet presence, and centeredness, she extends herself into the environment. Her self enters more and more deeply into her body as we communicate to the child over and over through our hands, our eyes, our voices that the world is good and that her existence is secure.
We can observe the progressive anchoring of the child’s self within the body in the simple care-giving moments. As early as five or six weeks of age, the child reaches out her hand and arm to ‘help’ the parent put on a sleeve, or lifts her legs to enable the diaper to be put on. This is more than mere sensory response: It is a deed of the child’s individuality. If we notice, respond with interest, wait with patience, the child will initiate more moments like this, and the child will respond in even more active collaboration. Our intimate interest is reciprocated, and the child becomes increasingly engaged in the daily substance of life. Her ego becomes increasingly active, expressing its presence in an individual, personal gesture. Pikler’s work makes these elements of the infant’s experience tangible and perceptible as active phenomena in the integration of the ego.
To read the full article click here.