The Quest for Control

Part Three: The Emotional World of the Toddler

The granddady of developmental theorists, Sigmund Freud, talked about the major task of toddlerhood as being the acquisition of control over toileting. While most developmental scholars now have a much wider view, it is still important to keep in mind how crucial the issue of devleoping control for a toddler–control over body functions, over physical activities, over feelings, and over the world around the toddler.

Wise parents and educators strike a blance between structure and clear expectations on the one hand, and avoiding unnecessary regimentation and sources of conflict on the other. Toddlers do best when they are invited and attracted into ctivities, and diverted into other activities, rather than required to participate in them. Happily, their incredible curiosity and motivation to learn makes thier easier when the activities in quesion are as nturally appealing as music and movement.

In Kindermusik Our Time, children are invited to participate in activities, but at no time is there an expectation of performance. Activities such as the object and instrument exploration in Our Time remove any performance expectations because the parent becomes the teacher in a playful interaction that is controlled by the child’s desire to participate.