One of our favorite quotes from Dr. Greenspan's writings:
Parents can make a dramatic difference in how children use their wonderfully different natural abilities. Children vary considerably in the ways they use their senses and bodies and the ways they respond to the world. For each unique pattern, however, parents can create experiences that promote flexibility. The capacity to love, to empathize with others, to be confident and assertive, and to think creatively are complex products of many of our traits; indeed, they are the results of our relationships and experiences over many years.
A child's personality is a product of the unique and continuous interplay between nature and nurture. And this interplay happens in your relationship with your child. Your child brings his or her "nature", and you bring warmth and love wrapped up in a particular pattern of caring. It operates like a lock and a key. Finding the right key creates new patterns of interactions. Out of this new relationship, a child can often develop the warmth and confidence he or she needs.
For each stage of development there is a special "key". I believe that this knowledge about how to find the "keys" that will help any child, even those with difficult challenges, needs to be in the hands of each and every caregiver and parent.
Stanley Greenspan, 1995. The Challenging Child.
This last quote is by Stanley Greenspan on the First Signs website:
“Most mommies and daddies tell me “I thought there
was a problem at 14 or 15 months...and they told me let’s wait and see because
sometimes some kids grow out of it.’ Well, that’s not a good answer. We've got
to make the distinction between less important problems, where we can wait and
see from core problems, which involve a lack of reciprocity and a lack of
getting to know your world. For these core problems, we have to act on it
yesterday. We can’t wait nine months, we can’t wait two months” (Stanley I. Greenspan,
M.D., Child Psychiatrist.)
" I had a built in passion that it was
important to make a real contribution in the world and to fix all the
injustices that existed in the world." "So the passion to create a
safer, more just world for all kids is there and suppose will be there until I
die and maybe even after."
~~Louise Derman-Sparks
"When I think about passion as a person I also
embrace who I am; who I am as a woman, as a Latina leader, and what my family
has taught me. It creates a foundation for my passion."
~~Leticia Lara
Dear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteDr. Greenspan really sums it up well. The combination of nature and nurture are the key components that help a child unlock the keys to personal growth and success. Parents and teachers are the the ones who must nurture children and allow them to unlock the key to their success!
I also chose Louise Derman-Sparks as the subject of my inspiration. Her words of passion hit home with me. When I first started to teach, I also wanted to make a difference and right all of the wrongs in the world, particularly in my classroom. I still live by that philosophy today!
Patricia,
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen some excellent quotes! I especially identify with Dr. Greenspan when he discusses "waiting to see" being NOT a good answer. Too often, I see children who need help, who aren't getting it. Whether the delay is caused by parents who don't want to acknowledge that there is a problem, or by inept evaluators or teachers, or simply red tape, I want to cry for the time that is wasted in that child's life.
I so appreciate Dr. Greenspan knowledge and wisdom. I so wish I could gently get the importance of early intervention across to our families that we serve. Culturally, it is the "norm" for our families on the reservation to wait. By kindergarten its too late and the children are behind. Denial seems to serve a purpose in so many families lives.
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