On our bold quest to change the world for the better, we actively trust children.
We trust them from infancy! A young infant has so much to say. So much to do.
And those toddlers! ...pushing limits, testing boundaries, figuring so much out...
So that once they're preschoolers, they trust themselves. They know that danger is real. That their risks are real. That they can get hurt. That it's their job to assess and figure and think.
Let me be clear: I'm not talking Lord of the Flies here. We have a role as the adults!
At Tumbleweed, our intention is to:
* Be present.
* Be available.
* Carefully observe each child in order to know them, their skills, the sorts of risks they tend to take, etc.
* Assess risk to ensure that the risk each child takes is a reasonable one (based on both the child's skill/comprehension level based on our observations and the degree of risk involved).
* Set clear limits.
* Send the message: This is big work, and I trust you. We are intentional about our body language (being only as near as is necessary to be able to quickly intervene to prevent major injury or provide emotional support/sportscasting as needed) and our word choice/intonation (i.e. observing, modeling close attention to detail, noticing careful choices that work well).
* Intervene (when necessary) with an anti-shame approach that aims to support child-led solutions.
Aren't these useful things to figure out now? Cause the risks only get bigger from here on out. And the consequences more intense. And our presence less present...
So, from your children to you:
Trust Us. Trust us now, while we're here together, while the risks are relatively small, while we still want you to hug us when we scrape our knees, while we still have the chance to know that we are capable, strong, worthy, resilient, and absolutely amazing just as we are.
We trust them from infancy! A young infant has so much to say. So much to do.
And those toddlers! ...pushing limits, testing boundaries, figuring so much out...
So that once they're preschoolers, they trust themselves. They know that danger is real. That their risks are real. That they can get hurt. That it's their job to assess and figure and think.
Let me be clear: I'm not talking Lord of the Flies here. We have a role as the adults!At Tumbleweed, our intention is to:
* Be present.
* Be available.
* Carefully observe each child in order to know them, their skills, the sorts of risks they tend to take, etc.
* Assess risk to ensure that the risk each child takes is a reasonable one (based on both the child's skill/comprehension level based on our observations and the degree of risk involved).
* Set clear limits.
* Send the message: This is big work, and I trust you. We are intentional about our body language (being only as near as is necessary to be able to quickly intervene to prevent major injury or provide emotional support/sportscasting as needed) and our word choice/intonation (i.e. observing, modeling close attention to detail, noticing careful choices that work well).
* Intervene (when necessary) with an anti-shame approach that aims to support child-led solutions.
Aren't these useful things to figure out now? Cause the risks only get bigger from here on out. And the consequences more intense. And our presence less present...
So, from your children to you:
Trust Us. Trust us now, while we're here together, while the risks are relatively small, while we still want you to hug us when we scrape our knees, while we still have the chance to know that we are capable, strong, worthy, resilient, and absolutely amazing just as we are.
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