The Importance of Special Time
Great appreciation to Fela Barclift for her selfless efforts in teaching “Special Time for the Child.” [Fela Barclift is the Regional Reference Person for North Brooklyn, New York, USA, and recently led a family workshop in Nigeria. Special time is an activity, developed in RC family work, during which an adult puts a young person in full charge of their mutual relationship, as far as the young person can think. For a specific period of time, the adult lets the young person know that she or he is willing to do anything the young person wants to do. The adult focuses her or his entire attention on the young person and follows her or his lead, whether the young person tells, or simply shows, the adult what she or he wants to do.]
From her teaching, I learnt that during special time a child should be allowed to discover new ideas on her own and liberate herself from any emotional distress. This was manifested in the children who joined us at the workshop.
Giving special time to a child deepens the love between the adult and the child, brings them closer to each other, and allows the child to be independent, happy, and vigorous in her discoveries. It creates room for self-awareness. It also makes room for creativity and enhances fast learning and acquisition of knowledge, because children learn more by practice.
We shouldn’t wait to educate parents in our Community on the importance of special time for a child.
Agulu, Anambra, Nigeria
(Present Time 187, April 2017)