Emmi Pikler
Emilie "Emmi" Pikler (born January 9, 1902 in Vienna , † June 6, 1984 in Budapest , born Emilie Madleine Reich ) was a Hungarian pediatrician who broke new ground in infant education in the 20th century .
Life path
Emilie Reich was born in Vienna in 1902 and spent her early childhood there. Her mother, a Viennese, was a kindergarten teacher by profession, her father, a Hungarian, was a craftsman . In 1908 her parents moved to Budapest. When Emmi was twelve years old, her mother died.
Her decision to become a pediatrician led her back to Vienna to study medicine . She received her doctorate in 1927 and received her specialist pediatric training at the Vienna University Children's Clinic with Clemens von Pirquet and in pediatric surgery with Hans Salzer.
The experiences of her husband, a mathematician and educator, confirmed Emmi Pikler's considerations in terms of developmental physiology. Together, when their first child was born, they decided to allow it to move freely and to wait patiently for its development. At first they lived in Trieste , later in Budapest. In 1935 Emmi Pikler was also recognized as a pediatrician in Hungary. From the beginning it was her goal to enable a healthy development of the child. From the experience with her daughter she knew that a child does not need to be stimulated to move or play and that every detail in dealing with the child and in his environment is important. Already in those years Emmi Pikler gave lectures and wrote various articles on the care and upbringing of infants and toddlers. This resulted in her first book for parents. It appeared in 1940 and later saw numerous editions in Hungary and abroad. The ten years that she worked as a family doctor were difficult for her not only because of her Jewish origins, but also because her husband was imprisoned for political reasons from 1936 to 1945. With the help of the parents of the children she looked after, she and her family were able to survive the persecution of the Jews during World War II .
After the war she became the mother of two more children. She did not reopen her private practice, but took care of abandoned and malnourished children within a Hungarian organization . In addition to various other activities, she founded the Lóczy Baby Home in 1946 , which she managed until 1979. After retiring, Emmi Pikler continued her educational and advisory work at Lóczy. The focus of her interest was still the movement development of infants, which was also the subject of her habilitation in 1969 . In the last few years of her life, her work has received increasing recognition at home and abroad.
Emmi Pikler died in 1984 after a brief, serious illness.
In 2018, Emmi-Pikler-Strasse in Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) was named after her.
Pedagogical approach
Emmi Pikler's pedagogical convictions were strengthened when she got to know Elsa Gindler's and Heinrich Jacoby's way of working through Elfriede Hengstenberg in Budapest in 1935 . In 1931, Elfriede Hengstenberg pointed out, based on the findings of Gindler and Jacoby, how necessary it was to research the natural laws of child development in order to preserve the child's original abilities and powers. In the 1920s, Gindler and Jacoby had recognized the extent to which the usual upbringing of babies and toddlers impeded the initiative of children, stunted their ability to express themselves and turned them into dependent, clumsy, mobility and posture impaired people. Our largely disturbed relationship to work and study was also a consequence of the lack of knowledge of human nature. The results of Emmi Pikler's practical and scientific work have in turn confirmed Gindler and Jacoby's idea of the possibility of undisturbed development for the child.
Lóczy Institute
In 1946 Emmi Pikler founded the Lóczy Institute in Budapest . Under her leadership and through the results of the prevention of hospitalism as well as the publication of specialist books and scientific publications, it became an internationally known methodological institute, which is now headed by her daughter, child psychologist Anna Tardos.
Spread of the Pikler pedagogy
From the 1990s onwards, Emmi Pikler's work was increasingly recognized internationally and is now known as Pikler pedagogy. The Hungarian Pikler Institute has also been conducting advanced training courses in English since 2004. This year it also registered “Pikler” as a European brand for educational services and child-friendly furnishings and toys.
In Austria, among other things, the Pikler-Hengstenberg Society trains pedagogical specialists in the sense of Pikler pedagogy. So-called “Pikler courses” are now a natural part of early childhood education programs for parents in large parts of the German-speaking area.
Publications
- Become familiar with each other. Experiences and thoughts on the care of infants and small children (Ed .: Anna Tardos, Lienhard & Laura Valentin). Arbor Verlag, Freiamt 2002 / 3rd edition ISBN 3-933020-04-2
- Give me time. The child's independent movement development up to free walking. Research results, essays and lectures. (With Anna Tardos). Pflaum, Munich 2001 / 3rd edition ISBN 379050842X
- Peaceful babies - happy mothers. Educational advice from a pediatrician . Herder, Freiburg 2008 / 9th edition ISBN 9783451049866
Web links
- Literature by and about Emmi Pikler in the catalog of the German National Library
- International Emmi Pikler Foundation
- Pikler Society Berlin
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pikler, Emmi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pikler, Emilie; Reich, Emilie Madleine (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Hungarian pediatrician and pedagogue for toddlers |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 9, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 6, 1984 |
| Place of death | Budapest |