“Every generation rediscovers and re-evaluates the meaning of infancy and childhood.”
This quote is from psychologist Arnold Gesell, who was the pioneer of defining the early stages of childhood development.
When you reflect on your own upbringing, what do you remember? We can all be horrified at the pre-germ-aware lifestyles of our grandparents, of TV dinners or being allowed to bicycle without a helmet. But are we really that different, after all?
Russian born Child Development specialist Urie Brofenbrenner said this:
“In order to develop normally, a child requires progressively more complex joint activity with one or more adults who have an irrational emotional relationship with the child. Somebody’s got to be crazy about that kid. That’s number one. First, last and always.”
So, maybe being crazy in love with our kids is the common human experience. When we know better, we do better (most of us aren’t cooking steak and potatoes every night) but as long as our children are loved, they’ll be just fine.
