from Dr Pikler...
The Development of Movement - Stages
In excerpt 'Peaceful Babies—Contented Mothers' by Dr Emmi Pikler.
From the Sensory Awareness Foundation publication BULLETIN (Number 14/Winter 1994).
Children, particularly in cities, tend to sit poorly and have bad posture. They cannot sit, stand or walk properly, not to mention more complicated movements.
This, of course, is not self-evident to every reader. I can hear the astonished responses: "What? My children can’t move?!" "My little daughter could already sit when she was just four months old" "Mine was already standing at six months"… "When my son was not even one year old, he was walking."
Children do sit, stand, walk, and move – that is true. But how? … They tire easily. They fall often and clumsily. Quite often they hurt themselves seriously. They do sit, stand, walk etc., but not really….
Of course, we adults are not any better in this respect. We think it is natural that after a one-or-two-hour walk we can’t stand on our feet any longer, that after a few hours of sitting we have difficulty in moving our stiffened limbs. That is not at all natural, however. If one sits correctly, sitting is not tiring. If one stands correctly, standing is possible for much longer than we can imagine….
Or, let us consider animals. They move in a simple way, in harmony with their nature: a deer, a cat, an ape, a buffalo or an elephant. The largest, the most dignified, the slowest, the most unwieldy animal, each one is equally capable of swift and instant movement without losing its innate grace – not like us who when running only ten or twenty steps (for instance to catch a bus) run in a stiff and strained manner and are out of breath for many minutes afterward.
Even the fastest movement an animal makes never seems hurried. And most importantly, the greatest achievements are attained with the least amount of effort.
Why is it that this natural, quiet serenity, the natural simplicity and efficiency of the posture and movement is so often completely lacking in our children? Does it have to be that way?
No.
In the development of movement we are not by nature as different from animals as we generally assume. The wish for our children to move beautifully and according to their innate nature is by no means a far off and unattainable dream. To move correctly is an inborn ability not only of animals but also of human beings, including city people. If we provide enough space and possibilities for moving freely, then the children will move as well as animals: skillfully, simply, securely, naturally.
Don’t misunderstand me. Not every human being can have a perfect figure. I am talking about gestures, movements, carriage. There will always be people with less than harmonious proportions and other small imperfections. However, the imperfections we may be born with do not need to grow progressively worse with time, or make us unable to deal with the average demands for movement in everyday life. Even animals with a poor build are able to move to the utmost of their abilities. Unfortunately, on top of whatever disadvantages our children may have been born with, they use their abilities poorly. We should spare our children this unfavorable course in their motor development. What can we do?
Should we exercise the small child? Should we teach the child correct movement? What measures could we take to get good results?
We don’t need to take any special measures.
The question is not how we can “teach” an infant to move well and correctly, using cleverly though up, artificially constructed, complicated measures, using exercises and gymnastics. It is simply a matter of offering an infant the opportunity – or, more precisely, not to deprive him of this opportunity – to move according to his inherent ability. ...(continued)
To continue reading this article click here.
In excerpt 'Peaceful Babies—Contented Mothers' by Dr Emmi Pikler.
From the Sensory Awareness Foundation publication BULLETIN (Number 14/Winter 1994).
Children, particularly in cities, tend to sit poorly and have bad posture. They cannot sit, stand or walk properly, not to mention more complicated movements.
This, of course, is not self-evident to every reader. I can hear the astonished responses: "What? My children can’t move?!" "My little daughter could already sit when she was just four months old" "Mine was already standing at six months"… "When my son was not even one year old, he was walking."
Children do sit, stand, walk, and move – that is true. But how? … They tire easily. They fall often and clumsily. Quite often they hurt themselves seriously. They do sit, stand, walk etc., but not really….
Of course, we adults are not any better in this respect. We think it is natural that after a one-or-two-hour walk we can’t stand on our feet any longer, that after a few hours of sitting we have difficulty in moving our stiffened limbs. That is not at all natural, however. If one sits correctly, sitting is not tiring. If one stands correctly, standing is possible for much longer than we can imagine….
Or, let us consider animals. They move in a simple way, in harmony with their nature: a deer, a cat, an ape, a buffalo or an elephant. The largest, the most dignified, the slowest, the most unwieldy animal, each one is equally capable of swift and instant movement without losing its innate grace – not like us who when running only ten or twenty steps (for instance to catch a bus) run in a stiff and strained manner and are out of breath for many minutes afterward.
Even the fastest movement an animal makes never seems hurried. And most importantly, the greatest achievements are attained with the least amount of effort.
Why is it that this natural, quiet serenity, the natural simplicity and efficiency of the posture and movement is so often completely lacking in our children? Does it have to be that way?
No.
In the development of movement we are not by nature as different from animals as we generally assume. The wish for our children to move beautifully and according to their innate nature is by no means a far off and unattainable dream. To move correctly is an inborn ability not only of animals but also of human beings, including city people. If we provide enough space and possibilities for moving freely, then the children will move as well as animals: skillfully, simply, securely, naturally.
Don’t misunderstand me. Not every human being can have a perfect figure. I am talking about gestures, movements, carriage. There will always be people with less than harmonious proportions and other small imperfections. However, the imperfections we may be born with do not need to grow progressively worse with time, or make us unable to deal with the average demands for movement in everyday life. Even animals with a poor build are able to move to the utmost of their abilities. Unfortunately, on top of whatever disadvantages our children may have been born with, they use their abilities poorly. We should spare our children this unfavorable course in their motor development. What can we do?
Should we exercise the small child? Should we teach the child correct movement? What measures could we take to get good results?
We don’t need to take any special measures.
The question is not how we can “teach” an infant to move well and correctly, using cleverly though up, artificially constructed, complicated measures, using exercises and gymnastics. It is simply a matter of offering an infant the opportunity – or, more precisely, not to deprive him of this opportunity – to move according to his inherent ability. ...(continued)
To continue reading this article click here.
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from those inspired by Pikler...
Dr Pikler's approach allows the child's motor development to unfold naturally, at its natural pace, without interference. As a result, 'Pikler babies' are graceful and do not fall. They find perfect balance, they develop perfect posture, core strength, agility and awareness.
Pikler, Point and Periphery
An excerpt from the Jane Swain's article Pikler, Point and Periphery
Early in her career, she [Pikler] lived in Triest, Italy for a year, where she spent time on the beach observing parents with their infants. Pikler witnessed parents teaching their infants to sit, stand and walk before they were able to do so on their own. She asked the question, does this communicate to the child that what he is doing is not good enough, and that he should be doing something of which he is not yet capable? Essentially Pikler’s answer was that what the infant is capable of doing at a particular time is the perfect thing for him to be doing.
Pikler saw this teaching gesture of the adult as a distrust of the child’s inherent ability to guide his own motor development. It seems apparent that Pikler had a tremendously well-developed sense of the ego of the other. In her time, just as today, infants were usually seen and treated as objects. It was, and is, considered the adult’s job to teach the child to sit and to walk. Pikler strongly disagreed with this, and saw each infant as a unique individuality, capable of guiding his own motor development—in fact, infinitely more qualified than any adult.
To read the full article click here.
Pikler, Point and Periphery
An excerpt from the Jane Swain's article Pikler, Point and Periphery
Early in her career, she [Pikler] lived in Triest, Italy for a year, where she spent time on the beach observing parents with their infants. Pikler witnessed parents teaching their infants to sit, stand and walk before they were able to do so on their own. She asked the question, does this communicate to the child that what he is doing is not good enough, and that he should be doing something of which he is not yet capable? Essentially Pikler’s answer was that what the infant is capable of doing at a particular time is the perfect thing for him to be doing.
Pikler saw this teaching gesture of the adult as a distrust of the child’s inherent ability to guide his own motor development. It seems apparent that Pikler had a tremendously well-developed sense of the ego of the other. In her time, just as today, infants were usually seen and treated as objects. It was, and is, considered the adult’s job to teach the child to sit and to walk. Pikler strongly disagreed with this, and saw each infant as a unique individuality, capable of guiding his own motor development—in fact, infinitely more qualified than any adult.
To read the full article click here.