The life of children does not need to be stressful serious and exhausting. It can be filled with joy, enthusiasm, and inspiration. Neuroscience nowadays knows that our brains learn way faster if they are filled with positive vibes rather than negative or depressive. Therefore, it is time to bring more joy and play into education.

Education takes place in so many different parts. When addressing the topic of education we speak about both parents and teachers. Their question frequently raised is, “How can I balance play with rules and order?”

Marion Hopfgartner, today educationalist, international speaker, author and founder of TLI Pedagogics started her educational career in 1997 as a principal of a pre-school. After more than 17 years of empiric research, the study of neuroscientific research results and hands-on-approach in educating children, she developed the Certified TLI Teachers and the TLI Parenting program. Today, she gives us some hints on how we can approach the difficult task of parenthood and education.

“You simply make the children your companion and you softly guide them along the way. The older they become, the more you become a mentor and you make sure each and everyone knows what is their individual role and place in life. This will not just help you with rules and borders but also with creating strong self-esteem and self-awareness within children. When speaking about a companion, I do not mean that we become friends with our children, but rather to be committed to them so that they can rely on us and anchor.”

While many people focus a lot on academic knowledge to give children future possibilities in business, a huge part of early childhood care is the creation of social-awareness in these young children. It is upon the role models what behavior towards others, toddlers and young children integrate and how our future society will look like. When speaking about role models this includes the parents the teachers as well as the strangers on the street. During the first five years of life, children absorb the most important behavioral structures most of the time unconsciously into their brains. During the next seven years, those programs will deepen and strongly shape the personality of everyone. At the age of 12, the peers take over more and more. One psychologist even says that the structure in the psyche is built during the first five years of life and will be repeated throughout the rest of your life over and over again. Therefore, education is not just about the play but also about creating a stunning future for all of us.