Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom.
Erik EriksonRead
You see a child play, and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word. You can see how he solves his problems. You can also see what's wrong. Young children, especially, have enormous creativity, and whatever's in them rises to the surface in free play.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Children's play is a form of expression similar to art, reflecting their creativity and problem-solving skills.
This quote by Erik Erikson emphasizes the profound connection between childlike play and artistic expression. Through play, children demonstrate their innate creativity and ability to navigate challenges without the need for words, showcasing their imaginative problem-solving skills. In observing a child at play, one can gain insights into their inner world and the way they interact with their environment, highlighting the importance of free play in child development and creativity.
Themes
PlayCreativityExpressionChildhoodArtProblemsImagination
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about child development, this quote can highlight the importance of play for creative expression.
More from Erik Erikson
All quotes →Men have always shown a dim knowledge of their better potentialities by paying homage to those purest leaders who taught the simplest and most inclusive rules for an undivided mankind.
Erik EriksonRead
Nobody likes to be found out, not even one who has made ruthless confession a part of his profession. Any autobiographer, therefore, at least between the lines, spars with his reader and potential judge.
Erik EriksonRead
You've got to learn to accept the law of life, and face the fact that we disintegrate slowly.
Erik EriksonRead
In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.
Erik EriksonRead
Parents must not only have certain ways of guiding by prohibition and permission, they must also be able to represent to the child a deep, almost somatic conviction that there is meaning in what they are doing.
Erik EriksonRead
Similar quotes
I used to think there was something dirty about being paid for something which is a sacred thing to do. I can't disconnect the act of writing music from the act of prayer. If anyone tries to stop me working, it feels like someone is trying to stop me from taking communion.
John TavenerRead
Glamour is an imaginative process that creates a specific emotional response: a sharp mixture of projection, longing, admiration, and aspiration. It evokes an audience's hopes and dreams and makes them seem attainable, all the while maintaining enough distance to sustain the fantasy.
Virginia PostrelRead
I want to feel that art is an utterance made in good faith by one human being to another.
Marilynne RobinsonRead
[...] I've come to the conclusion that the artist can not justify life or come up with a cogent reason as to why life is meaningful, but the artist can provide you with a cold glass of water on a hot day.
Woody AllenRead
It's not a matter of learning lines. It's a matter of getting into the ideas and the will of the person. It's a matter of, 'What does he want to do? What does he want to achieve?'
Max Von SydowRead
Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.
Edward WestonRead