jmcseals SEALS

I found this quite interesting. I wonder if he felt this way about
school-aged children? Thought provoking for new parents and those who have
been taught not to trust our children's innate ability to learn without
coercion.

Enjoy,
Jennifer


Honor Your Child�s Need for Solitude
By Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers, one of the most courageous supporters of childhood, better
known as television's "Mister Rogers," a cultural icon and kindly neighbor
to generations of American children, died Thursday, February 27, at the age
of 74. Here is one of his many great essays.

It isn�t only famous movie stars who want to be alone, and whenever I hear
a celebrity speak of the value of times of solitude and privacy, I find
myself thinking once again how real and deep the need for such times is for
all human beings�at all ages.
Even for babies? Solitude? Yes, in some ways, especially for babies-and
certainly that need is real as babies grow into toddlers and preschoolers.
In one family we know, the parents bombarded their baby daughter with toys
that rattled and tinkles and jiggled and spun, toys of all shapes and colors
and textures. It seemed as thought that baby hardly had a waking moment
without intense outside stimulation of one kind or another.
Her parents were well meaning; they wanted to encourage her to develop and
learn in any way they could. But that baby, like most babies, needed time
to get used to all the new things she was finding in her new world.
Even without the parents� efforts to stimulate her, the world is
stimulating enough! She needed times that were quiet, times of solitude,
and she let her parents know it: when they still insisted she pay attention,
she�d close her eyes and go to sleep.

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Heidi

My daughter and I were just talking about Mr. Rogers yesterday. Her
sun school teacher asked "Is Jesus more like Mr. Rogers or
Braveheart?" and they came to the conclusion that He is like both.
But the question was about this stereotype we have of what Mr. Rogers
is like.

My memory of him is that he never talked down to his audience. Just
spoke directly to them, in a friendly and direct manner. He had some
routines that he did every time, and a simple way of make-believing.
And there was always some interesting grown-up in his neighborhood,
to learn something from. My mom remembers me as a toddler, sitting
still and watching intently with Mr. Rogers, but other TV programs
not keeping my attention at all.

I like his style. He seems to have been a person who respected
children.

HeidiC


--- In [email protected], "jmcseals SEALS"
<jmcseals@m...> wrote:
> I found this quite interesting. I wonder if he felt this way about
> school-aged children? Thought provoking for new parents and those
who have
> been taught not to trust our children's innate ability to learn
without
> coercion.
>
> Enjoy,
> Jennifer
>
>
> Honor Your Child's Need for Solitude
> By Fred Rogers
> Fred Rogers, one of the most courageous supporters of childhood,
better
> known as television's "Mister Rogers," a cultural icon and kindly
neighbor
> to generations of American children, died Thursday, February 27, at
the age
> of 74. Here is one of his many great essays.
>
> It isn't only famous movie stars who want to be alone, and
whenever I hear
> a celebrity speak of the value of times of solitude and privacy, I
find
> myself thinking once again how real and deep the need for such
times is for
> all human beings…at all ages.
> Even for babies? Solitude? Yes, in some ways, especially for
babies-and
> certainly that need is real as babies grow into toddlers and
preschoolers.
> In one family we know, the parents bombarded their baby
daughter with toys
> that rattled and tinkles and jiggled and spun, toys of all shapes
and colors
> and textures. It seemed as thought that baby hardly had a waking
moment
> without intense outside stimulation of one kind or another.
> Her parents were well meaning; they wanted to encourage her
to develop and
> learn in any way they could. But that baby, like most babies,
needed time
> to get used to all the new things she was finding in her new world.
> Even without the parents' efforts to stimulate her, the world
is
> stimulating enough! She needed times that were quiet, times of
solitude,
> and she let her parents know it: when they still insisted she pay
attention,
> she'd close her eyes and go to sleep.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE*
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail