Emmi and me

Live and work with children, adults and myself

Pikler – Pedagogy very practical

How does that work??

So that’s how "piklerisch" to be with the child?

I’ll do it.

Leave it there.

"Let us not do anything for the infant that he is capable of, e.g. when he reaches for something that he can achieve himself when he makes an effort; he will also find out everything how he can achieve it. The less we interfere in his experiments, the more eager and persistent he will be to continue experimenting" (Pikler 1982: 42ff.)

Wrapping up in dialogue

Before it got mobile, we put a thin cloth on it so that the wood is not too cold. However, with increasing movement, the cloth became superfluous because it only disturbed. From the beginning we explained every move, because we did with her and made it possible for her to help in her measure. So that your attention is not distracted from being with me or your loved one, we have refrained from hanging mobiles over the changing table or offering toys when changing diapers. It was and is important that we have prepared the changing area and that everything we need is within easy reach. So we can always get involved with them and do not have to quickly search for anything or get something. At the changing table she gets undivided attention and everything we do with her happens with respect and respect for her statements, individual preferences and her own pace of development.

Especially for me, who has already wrapped and cared for a child, it was hard to get old, sometimes to break speechless and loveless routines. But I succeeded in reflection with my loved one. He never did it differently, as described here and is my role model. Even if he sometimes has problems with tights and other clothing.

While mothers with children of the same age talk about the problems with changing diapers because their children do not want to lie down and do not work, we enjoy several times a day in really connecting moments in which we chat and laugh a lot with each other. The little lady stands on the edge of the changing table, stretches her arms and feet towards her when she sees the items of clothing and I ask her to do so, creams his cheek (currently only one :), combs and decides on clothes. Of course, sometimes it takes longer for her to hold out her hand to cut my nails. But we can always do that together well. This kind of wrapping feels good to me, too, because I can see the little lady enjoying the attention. For us, diapering is a wonderful shared experience, where the fresh diaper is a pleasant by-product.

Let learn to walk

Stuff to play with

My daughters’ playroom is full of many things. Dolls, doll buggy, potty, an old school desk, drawing dachshund, hand puppets, duplos, a children’s kitchen with lots of accessories, books, sneaky animals, Pikler triangle with a slide board, cladding box and Kapla stones.

And then there’s the stuff. Lots of colorful cups, metal bowls in different shapes and sizes, a basket full of lids, a coffee grinder, balls of different sizes and materials, towels, small and large ones in different colors.
This stuff is played intensively by all children who play in our playroom. Yes, things are used too, there are favorite things. But above all the bowls, mugs and towels are used in ever new variations. They do not give the children a game, but are open to their ideas. The chick understands the metal bowl. If she bumps into it by accident, then pulls it, watching how she rocks. Grab it, touch it with your lips and tongue. The Little Lady distributes bowls in the room and fills them with everything, uses them as a feed bowl for her rubber horse or serves me food, stacks, pours, rolls. Try it out. When this stuff is available to play, both play focused and independent based on their age-appropriate attention span. You don’t need my instructions or my assistant because you can’t hurt yourself with the stuff and I don’t have to show you how to deal with it, because it’s open to your ideas and skills. In my parent-child groups, too, the children play with such stuff, explore baking brushes, climb into big boxes, are allowed to try, do and sink without an adult showing them how to and can play.
Childish play is work, they work with the stuff on their topics, get to know the world and it is enough if we parents accompany it, with words that describe what we see. Then they can follow their own ideas, do their own experiments. Why should the child stack a tower when he is interested in inside and outside? Restraint and observation are more important than showing the child how we think they should play. So it can deepen and enjoy what it does without us as animators.

I love to watch my children play. The chick plays with the whole body, she turns back and forth on her back, articulates, rolls on her stomach, handles what comes into her hands. She is happy when I am with her and watch her doing it.
The little lady plays role plays with her dolls, tells and sings. She involves me, but keeps coming back to playing with herself and her stuff. Everywhere and with everything, she develops a game.

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