What is radical respect?
Radically respectful relationships with the very young are those in which the person with the most power (adult) makes a commitment to honoring the learning, feelings, thoughts, actions, and ideas of the very young person in the moment that they occur.
Radical respect is the underpinning of authentic relationships and unconditional love. It creates freedom and joy in relationships. Radically respectful relationships allow adults to see and appreciate children for the unique and valuable contributions they make to society in each moment, rather than for their future potential. Radical respect allows adults to love unconditionally, inviting curiosity about children's actions as communication and their ideas as important and meaningful.
Radically Respectful Relationships
Radically respectful relationships with the very young are those in which the person with the most power (adult) makes a commitment to honoring the learning, feelings, thoughts, actions, and ideas of the very young person in the moment that they occur.
Radically respectful relationships with the very young are difficult to maintain in Western culture, because of society’s demands. Adults in direct relationship with infants and toddlers are under extreme pressure to view them as future students or adults.
To engage in radical respect, adults must notice and challenge their own assumptions about their roles, then attend carefully to children’s many forms of communication to understand and honor their viewpoints.
Why does it matter?
Radically respectful relationships create freedom for all who engage in them. Freedom to be, freedom to learn, and freedom to grow. Freedom is the crucial element underlying the curiosity, creativity, communication, and empathy necessary to thrive.
Children bring unique perspectives and insights that are squelched when they are forced to conform to social expectations. The adults closest to young children enforce social standards, often unconsciously, which can silence children’s authentic expressions. By intentionally noticing and disrupting our own socially-constructed expectations, we can open ourselves to the joyful novelty and playfulness that children naturally bring.
For those who support adults in direct relationship with children, supporting radically respectful relationships that inspire freedom and joy for others has inherent worth for present-day society. Freedom and joy beget freedom and joy. Nurturing these characteristics in relationships with the very young creates a generation of children who understand, expect, and replicate them.
