Joy & Hugs

Book Study Week 2: Chapters 3 & 5
Commentary by Gwen Simmons

I am lucky, I teach two year olds.

Two year olds are joyful most of the time!  Unless they are tired or hungry, two year olds are constantly learning new things and so excited about it!  They are also thrilled by the silliest things. Stories, songs and games like Peekaboo just getter better and funnier as they are repeated over and over again.

I am lucky, I laugh all day! As my charges learn to communicate, they say and sign the funniest things.  They dance, wiggle, make messes and find joy in it all.  They engage me in play and keep me joy filled.

There are definitely days and children more challenging than others, but in my 15 years teaching toddlers, I am lucky, they bring me joy!

I hug toddlers all day.  I have never stopped myself from hugging a child thinking it might be inappropriate in any way.  But the reading made me think about older children and what kind of affection some of them might be lacking and it breaks my heart to think that teachers (who do it because they love children) need to be cautious. Boundaries are good and needed, but let's not legislate hugs out of our schools.

The comments about containerized children really rang true with me.  I see parents with infants, carrying their children into our center in their "car seat environment".  My first thought is that the car seat weighs more than than the baby, and isn't that heavy?  When did people stop carrying babies?  You are leaving your baby with us for the next 8-10 hours...wouldn't you rather be holding them close?  It saddens me.  I know the infant teachers in our center do an amazing job giving those babies love and attention, but from the description of "twelve hugs a day" to grow, I worry about the closeness they are missing at the start and end of their days.