H.W.
My impression of a Waldorf parent: someone who is raising their child with an awareness of the connections between a child's physical development and the development of their spirit and self. Waldorf methods encourage daily rhythms and routines, parental guidance that is intrinsic with the events of the day (in how we present our homes, our work and playspaces and in how we speak to our children), respect for the transitions that our young ones make as they grow (for example: cribs of newborns are often draped with pink silk scarves, to help the baby recreate the peace and comfort of the womb); and a focus on the health of both the body and the environment our children grow in.
Waldorf parenting can feel controversial to some: television and outside media are held back from the child until they are considered mature enough for those experiences, and this is certainly not the mainstream in thinking. Children are engaged in imaginative and experiential play and learn through these practices; you won't find such rote drilling of ABCs or numbers as you might at other schools. The Waldorf philosophy seeks to engage the child's whole self, and so you might find a Waldorf family instead making letters with their bodies or with other objects. Appreciation of the feelings that go with color and tones, music, textiles... all of this is drawn into the philosophy, and often toys are brought indoors from the outside world to offer more opportunities for imaginative play than the usual plastic toys we often find.
My preschool takes a little from Waldorf ideas: We have scarves which can become nests, rivers, picnic blankets, whatever they like. We have a big basket of horse chestnuts to play with, cups of mixed nuts and stones for play-- they are cargo for our wooden trains and trucks, they are food in our little kitchen, they are for rolling down ramps or lining up to count. Instead of a bulletin board, we have a Sharing Table with a vase of flowers (paperwhites, right now, from bulbs we forced), a special book, some little birds in bowl of the birdseed we feed our backyard birds. There is a place for everything and a gentle sense of organization, so that it is easy to find desired items, and equally easy to put them away.Our daily rhythm is consistent, and I am an authoratative as a teacher in how I speak to the children and how I conduct myself as a model.
For the 14 month old, life with a Waldorf parent might look busy and peaceful all at once. Toys can be made out of scarves,natural items, wood. Instead of putting baby in the exersaucer, the busy mother sets her child up to play in the kitchen on a rug, with some interesting items from the cupboard to explore: wooden spoons, funnels, anything safe made from wood or natural materials, which is often more pleasing to the senses than plastic. Noise toys are replaced by shakers. Less is more. Walks and outdoor play are preferred to loud noisy outings in crowded places. A sense of harmony, balance and well-being are important to Waldorf families.
This is an oversimplification; you can check online for all sorts of information. There are some great blogs out there on Waldorf parenting as well. It isn't just a 'way' of parenting, though; it's often about adopting a way of living that might seem unfamiliar to the mainstream. It seems these days that so much of popular parenting is about getting kids into classes, lessons, and having big experiences when they are little. Waldorf living is slower but no less interesting. I like what I know of Waldorf because it lets children be children, here in the present. Like many philosophies-- do some reading and research, and take from it what works for you!
