Speech For My Fathers 60th Birthday

Avoiding the temptations in our consumer society

Interview with Dr. Elliott Barker

By Jan Hunt

Dr. Elliott Barker Canadian psychiatrist and advocate of children is the founder / director of Canadian Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (CSPCC) and editor of the quarterly journal Empathic Parenting (no longer published more). His compassion, understanding and enthusiasm has helped parents and professionals around the world to understand the critical need to treat children with truth and respect.

In the 60 and 70, Dr. Barker was the assistant superintendent and clinical director of a maximum security hospital in Ontario, for people with "dangerous mental illness." His experiences there with psychotic patients with their memories cruelty they suffered when they were children led him to focus on preventing child abuse. As he explains: "It is generally accepted that psychopaths are at best very difficult to treat, but we know how to prevent the" diseases non-attachment ", as Selma Fraiberg called. Parents generally seem to be ignorant of that knowledge, so what the CSPCC founded to bring this knowledge to future s father. "

To that end, the CSPCC published the widely read quarterly journal Empathic Parenting for 25 years (1978-2003). Although the newspaper did not publish more, CSPCC continue to educate parents through their site empathicparenting.org . Dr. Barker plans to make the site "user friendly for students in elementary, middle and high school to give as much information as possible about the upbringing of children in the early years. Our goal has always been to reach people before they have children and the website, as a source of school work, could do more than the newspaper. We also hope to have all issues available via Empathic Parenting Internet. "

web site, as newspapers continue to emphasize the dangers of consumerism and its effects on children. As Dr. Barker sees it. "In the 70 the world seemed bent on childcare, in the 90 nurseries seem almost the norm, although it is not healthy . I am not optimistic about a real improvement for the children of the world society to which consumerism is exposed as it is and that some kind of brake was put to it. The priorities of parents with young children is strongly altered in the direction of getting goods services market as if they were necessary and desirable, parents are led to overestimate the care and social status. The values \u200b\u200bof consumerism are the envy, selfishness and greed, these values \u200b\u200bare the opposite of altruism that is required to care for babies and toddlers . "

To avoid the temptations of a consumer society, Dr. Barker offers the following recommendations :

• Raising a child fulfilling their emotional needs for there is a well-developed capacity for caring relationships and little need to compensate for the cravings and emotions things.

• Find a circle of like-minded people to yours, and there are organizations, communities with the same intention, etc. Internet is used to make connections between individuals and small groups of like-minded people like never before.

• Search non-commercial spaces (parks, Christian youth associations, etc.) genuine fun and non-commercial activities (sports, letters, etc.).

• Cultivate an awareness of allergy to all types of hidden advertising, advertising, free, etc..

• Avoid as much publicity as possible - TV, radio, brochures, newspapers, magazines. Is it worth the price content of the exhibition?

• Avoid stores and malls as much as possible

• In a practical sense, the world should give an appropriate value for the upbringing of children, reflecting the state's finances according to the father and otherwise. Each village should have an organization that encourages and Chamber of Commerce that promotes the best for their children.

• before conception expectant parents should know about the importance of parenting as well as know about their favorite sports, music, cars, fashion, etc..

When asked about giving only advice to a couple excited Dr. Barker said, " At the time the child is well underway mostly too late, in the sense that the priorities of parents are too set to disrupt many . They are set in their illusions of a standard of living and what is most valuable to them (usually without realizing it, like fish in water) is to accept their views as unalterable and within which the child should fit. In a philosophical sense, perhaps babies and children should be treated more like the mighty little messengers from another world who must learn . "

(Source: http://www.naturalchild.org/ , Translation: MPS)