Childhood Specialist, Jeanine Fitzgerald

I was lucky enough to see this presenter last night at my Provider Association Meeting.
 http://www.thefitzgeraldinstitute.com/  The topic was "Brains At Risk"

Jeanine Fitzgerald is an incredibly funny and caring person and strong child advocate. I first saw her at an Early Childhood conference well over 15 years ago and I never forgot her name, she explains things well and with great humor:
Pretty much the way we currently "educate" our young children, robs them of the time and space they need to develop their brains: their nervous systems, gross motor skills and even their eyes are at risk- and this is because policy is now based on politics rather than on child development. I have seen this alarming trend firsthand as academics takes over the early years.

Children have less and less freedom of play in order to develop their brain and the skills and tools that will later allow them to read and write- it is all being pushed down onto younger and younger ages before they have had time for normal development.
This is not to say that extremely smart/gifted children should not be allowed to excel, but it is saying to "start where the child is" and build from there-- which is such a strong philosophy, one that I feel with my heart and soul.  Children are robbed of social development, freedom of movement, and outdoor time which are quickly disappearing from early childhood programs- and which are all things that you can see I value highly, because they are so important to a child's development.

Studies are finding that today's child spends such little time outside that their vision is being trained to span the length of a room rather than the vastness of outdoors- the structure of their eyes are actually changing!

 In addition to this, screen-time, (whether tv, computers or i-pads), is messing with the development of central vision- which is needed for reading- and instead developing peripheral vision because the items they're viewing come from all sides of the screen.
In fact, she noted a woman who has been researching learning disabilities for 45 years has found that kids cannot "see" properly to read, the problem is that their vision has not developed correctly.  Jeanine recommended the book Eyes for Learning

She is also an advocate for good nutrition and pointed out that 900 new chemicals and dyes were approved by the FDA just this summer alone, and that doesn't include GMO's which build pesticides into our foods....all this and more adversely affects health and development of course. It is the reason I strive to avoid the microwave, and look for food labels with 5 ingredients or less, and try to make things from scratch.  I am glad she has added this to her crusade.

And I do mean crusade--the politicians in MA do not like her- which she laughs about- but which in truth is very sad and scary because it is all about money and not about what children "need" to thrive (and of course this is not just MA, it is the mentality of the Federal level too).
Teachers are stressed with mandates and the mandates are trickling down to preschool and childcare. In fact, she said they are planning an MCAS for infants/toddlers which will determine their placement in Kindergarten! This is like frightening sci-fi fiction- only it is heading our way in the next few years, she said it is in the works!

Jeanine talked about how children "need" these 6 types of movement for proper brain development-- at least 5 minutes worth for every 25 minutes of low mobility:
Rotary- which is spinning and rolling, she brought up how playgrounds used to have Merry-go-rounds
I have a sit-and-spin, plus the older kids will twist the swings tight and then spin- remember doing that?

Linear- forward and back, which is swinging and rocking. Swings are rapidly disappearing if you've noticed
And in child care settings rocking chairs and gliders are also disappearing due to fingers possibly getting pinched

Oscillation- which is up and down-- think jumping, and see-saws (which also have vanished)

Inverted-- upside down-- think Monkey bars (I am planning to get a geodome climber) but if you've noticed in my photos the kids often hang upside down from the branch in the bush. You might see them hang from the arm of the couch or a chair as well- they need this

Heavy work--pushing, pulling, carrying heavy objects. The best way to settle and ground a child. You may have noticed my big juice jugs filled with glitter and colored water--they love carrying these. Any "work" like this is helpful. She had a wonderful example of using a wall for this. She exclaims to a child who's behavior is starting to escalate, "Oh no! I think the wall is starting to lean!"  and she runs over and presses her hands against the wall- pushing and "holding" it up. Of course the child loves this and assists her, afterward getting a big phew! and a heartfelt "thanks so much- good thing you were here to help!" She demonstrated this last night, which was hilarious.

Crashing-- which includes falling, also important- you might see a child purposely fall again and again.. She said African drumming is amazing for this, the beat is perfect, so if you ever get to a drumming circle the kids should love it. I am going to search the library later today and see if they have any African drumming on cd as well

Kids do all these movements naturally- and you probably remember the playground equipment which has disappeared in the name of safety (and liability!) but which is robbing our kids of basic developmental needs-- and freedom of  movement is continually reduced in preschools as academics and sitting tasks take over.
Maria Montessori observed that children need to move in order to learn and that was well over a hundred years ago.  Anyone who is around children knows this to be true but "No Child Left Behind" and the money that now backs it, has changed all this for the worse --and shows no signs of stopping.

I found out that Jeanine has written a book- The Dance of Interaction- Managing Childrens Challenging Behaviors and told us she just finished writing another book this summer. [sorry the body of this blog site won't post click-on links]
http://www.amazon.com/Interaction-Managing-Childrens-Challenging-Behaviors/dp/0974176079/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381324093&sr=1-1&keywords=jeanine+fitzgerald

She speaks all over New England to parents as well as groups like mine, presents at Early Childhood conferences and consults with preschools- in fact, she has plans to start her own preschool, so she can do it right!
If you ever have the opportunity to see her, you will not be disappointed...she will explain why your instincts are correct and where we're missing the mark- and she will make you laugh.  She has the utmost respect and love for children, along with a strong grasp of child development and total common sense.  I cannot say enough good things about her :-)