Driving: Exactly. Children are to be at home. I don't take the kids shopping, I leave them at home with Joe as much as possible. Not all the time, but as much as I can manage.
Playgroup vs. Extended family: You are missing the point on this one. The point she is trying to make is socializing should be done at home without having to go somewhere. You know, with people in the neighborhood. Again,she's describing an "ideal" situation where family live in the same neighborhood. Not a lot of people have family nearby, but family can be created.
Isolation: you responded to this one yourself. The answer is to invite people over. The children stay home, in their own environment as much as possible. Isolation is really bad for adults, it isn't necessarily so for young children. Playgroups are for adults, not for the kids. We say its for the kids so they can be "socialized" but in reality the kids would be just as happy to stay home and play with their toys and/or their sibs, its Mom who needs the outing.
Idealism: Humans are adaptable to a certain point. Why do we have such a huge increase in autism? Why an explosion in sensory processing disorders? ADD? ADHD? Auto-immune disease? Anthroposophists point to an over-stimulating childhood (ages 0-7)that is rampant in our culture. You've got to remember this is a philosophy that believes that TV, Video Games, recorded music, and computers should NEVER be in a home with young children, or at least never exposing the children to it. It also believes that children have no business near a computer until High School! Part of the parent contract at most Waldorf Schools is that you will not allow your children to watch movies or TV. They are very concerned with over-stimulation. Is this a romantized ideal? Yes. Is it doable? Yes. Is it work to make it doable? Absolutely. Do I know of anybody that actually keeps to the ideal? No. But we know that the ideal is, and we do our best to meet it. Why? We try because we believe that on some level, this idea of over-stimulation is correct. And we make the changes that fit our family lifestyle.
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branchandroot
Bullet response
Date: 2010-05-27 10:08 pm (UTC)Playgroup vs. Extended family: You are missing the point on this one. The point she is trying to make is socializing should be done at home without having to go somewhere. You know, with people in the neighborhood. Again,she's describing an "ideal" situation where family live in the same neighborhood. Not a lot of people have family nearby, but family can be created.
Isolation: you responded to this one yourself. The answer is to invite people over. The children stay home, in their own environment as much as possible. Isolation is really bad for adults, it isn't necessarily so for young children. Playgroups are for adults, not for the kids. We say its for the kids so they can be "socialized" but in reality the kids would be just as happy to stay home and play with their toys and/or their sibs, its Mom who needs the outing.
Idealism: Humans are adaptable to a certain point. Why do we have such a huge increase in autism? Why an explosion in sensory processing disorders? ADD? ADHD? Auto-immune disease? Anthroposophists point to an over-stimulating childhood (ages 0-7)that is rampant in our culture. You've got to remember this is a philosophy that believes that TV, Video Games, recorded music, and computers should NEVER be in a home with young children, or at least never exposing the children to it. It also believes that children have no business near a computer until High School! Part of the parent contract at most Waldorf Schools is that you will not allow your children to watch movies or TV. They are very concerned with over-stimulation. Is this a romantized ideal? Yes. Is it doable? Yes. Is it work to make it doable? Absolutely. Do I know of anybody that actually keeps to the ideal? No. But we know that the ideal is, and we do our best to meet it. Why? We try because we believe that on some level, this idea of over-stimulation is correct. And we make the changes that fit our family lifestyle.