Project info
Lóczy Foundation for the Children, Budapest – Hungary
founded in 2014
Pikler nursery founded in 2011
14 employees in the nursery (pedagogical and housekeeping staff)
www.pikler.hu
Location: Budapest, Hungary
The Lóczy Foundation supports, among others, the Pikler Nursery in Budapest, Lóczy Lajos utca 3.
The aim of the foundation is to support parents, children and professionals through the dissemination of Dr. Emmi Pikler’s world-renowned infant pedagogy. Attached to the nursery is the Pikler Workshop (Hungarian Pikler-Lóczy Society) for professionals, offering training in several languages and the possibility of observation visits.
In addition, the results of years of research on infant and toddler development are published in films and books.
Project: Purchase of new beds in the outdoor area of the Pikler day care center
Our sponsorship
Assumption of costs for 14 beds worth a total of € 5,400
Funding period: 2022/2023
In Pikler pedagogy, the children’s health has a high priority from the very beginning. In the interest of physical and mental health, the children spend as much time as possible in the fresh air.
This means that they play outside almost every day in all seasons and are also put down to sleep outside in stable beds protected from sun, wind and rain in the afternoon (down to minus 5 degrees!).
Over the decades, many of the cribs in the outdoor area are now broken and beyond repair, and the nursery urgently needs new weatherproof, stable beds.
The project operator
The “Lóczy Foundation for the Children” works in the interest of young children – for them to be taken seriously, for them to be able to play and move freely, and for them to learn to live together with other children in a peaceful way.
It supports
- financially and professionally to the Pikler nursery, which has been operating since 2006, where experienced early childhood educators care for the children. Professionals from many countries come here to experience the Pikler approach in practice;
- professionals working with infants and toddlers and offers training (seminars, consultations with observations) in Spanish, English, French, German and Hungarian;
- Families with young children: Psychologists, curative teachers, pediatricians and other professionals offer them consultations, therapies, early interventions;
The Foundation works in close collaboration with the Pikler Nursery and with the Pikler-Lóczy Society, as well as with the Pikler Societies operating worldwide, with the aim of spreading those principles and practices of infant care and early childhood education which, according to its conviction and experience, promote the free development of children.
The nap in the fresh air
Emmi Pikler was a pediatrician and it was important to her, in addition to free movement, adherence to professional dietary recommendations and thorough pediatric supervision, that young children spend as much time as possible in the fresh air. The children play in the fresh air almost every day of the year, if possible even several times a day, directly in nature, in a real garden, where they are surrounded by the weather, the seasons, plants and animals.
The children in the Pikler nursery are put outside to sleep in sturdy beds after lunch and are protected from sun, wind and rain by a roof with curtains. Appropriate clothing has been developed over the decades for this purpose. Light sleeping bags and blankets for summer and for winter special down bags (similar to the winter down sleeping bags for the strollers), caps, gloves and down blankets protect them from heat, cold and wind. Their well-being and rest are also ensured by the fact that the educators prepare them for their nap with great attention: they are changed, dressed, carried or accompanied to their beds in one-to-one situations and in dialogue with each other, and if necessary, they stay with them for a while and guard their sleep.
In very bad weather, the children sleep indoors, and in doing so, the daycare educators always notice that the children sleep deeper and longer outside than they do indoors. After their nap, the children are rested and refreshed and can continue to pursue their play and contact interests.
Why we are committed to the project
The infant pedagogy of Dr. Emmi Pikler is fully in line with our Foundation’s concern to support children and adolescents in their development through self-efficacious experiences in a prepared environment with adults who are attentive to them and with restraint for their own solutions.
Many professionals react with surprise when they hear that the children in the Budapest Pikler nursery take their naps outside and ask why. Perhaps we should remember that in early infancy we often take our children for walks outside sleeping in their strollers. Or even summer camps and camping vacations, where the entire day is spent outside, usually result in restful sleep at night.
We know the pedagogical work of the Pikler nursery in Budapest from personal encounters and very much appreciate this special approach to young children and their parents. We are happy to be able to make a small contribution by financing new beds and wish the Foundation, the Pikler Society and the Pikler Daycare Center that they will be able to continue their work for a long time and that they will be able to share their knowledge and experience with all interested parties for a long time to come.
Outlook
We are open and ready for further projects and we are looking forward to a good and long cooperation with the Lóczy Foundation for the children in Budapest.
