I am currently writing an essay comparing two child development theorists. I have read pages and pages of highly technical information about how and why children develop the way that they do and the impact that the early years have on the rest of their lives. Some of it is very interesting and I have found helps me make sense of children that I have worked with. It cannot be denied just how valuable all this research is because without it we would still think of children as little adults ready to be moulded. Though not everyone has knowledge of the people that changed the way that we view children, the majority of us now believe that children are individuals and that childhood is to be enjoyed. Of course some people would probably say that they believe that because it is right and not because a theorist told them. This is the truth but it is also a fact that social groups at any one period in history tend to have similar views and thoughts regardless of whether it was directly taught to them. This of course leads onto the subject of collective subconscious and whether any of us do actually think truly as an individual but that is a whole other subject.

The point of this post is to lead up to the point where I began to cry as I read the thoughts of one of my two theorists. As I have previously stated, the research of these people are very valuable, however, in reading so many you do wonder if any of them view the parents or the child as actual people. Therefore to read the following statement by Donald Winnicott in his book The Child, the Family and the Outside World was a relief…. a relief that resulted in me in tears and saying outloud to an empty room ‘that is just so beautiful!’….

…. “if I were you, I would not wait until the psychologists have decided how human a baby is at birth – I should go right ahead and get to know this little person”

Incidentally… I also cried a little bit later at the X Factor rehearsals (again).