The mother/baby dance

The mother/baby dance
Sunday June 21, 2009

Dear Alice Miller,

Thank you for your kind reply to my email of December 2, 2008. I have since received encouraging comments from several leading pediatricians in the field of infant development but progress is slow in getting the American Academy of Pediatrics to move on including new material into its teaching program. In the meantime I am producing another web site aimed specifically at professionals involved in caring for infants and children. It is entitled Variety in the Pediatric Exam and can be viewed at www.generalsystemantics.com/VPE. You might find it interesting to look at.

In an effort to increase peoples’ awareness of the issues involved I have also written an essay on the need to change our approach to infants and toddlers from a manipulative approach to one based on mutual fulfillment, in accordance with your own ideas. The essay is included in this email. I don’t yet know who would be interested in publishing it, but I am sending it to you in advance of publication. If you are in a position to read it at this time, please let me know if you find any difficulties with it.

Very sincerely yours, JG

AM: Thank you for sending me your essay, it is excellent. I am sorry that the Academy of Pediatrics didn’t respond to it as they should. The idea of not coersive parenting may be too scary for traditional pediatrics, they may even not understand you because they themselves were brought up in a coersive way and their bodies don’t know anything else. I love your description of the relationship mother/baby as a dance and think that it should absolutely be made known as soon as possible. Have you thought on publishing your essay and the photos you sent us in December together in a book?
We can’t publish your essay in your mail because it is too long but if it is also on your web site you can make a link in your e-mail letter so that our visitors can read your essay and benefit from it. Or maybe you would prefer to wait until it is printed?