Interview with Domitille Lambert-Wanin
Hello Domitille Lambert-Wanin
We’re delighted to have you with us today.
You’re a psychologist, and you’re unique in that you work in a number of establishments dealing with children.
Can you tell us a little about your professional background and how you came to work with children’s institutions?
Hello,
I’ve always been “immersed in the world of children”, with a mother who was a school principal. Ever since I was young, I’ve known that I wanted to work with children, and I’m convinced of the importance of being there to support them in this first part of their lives, the foundation of their existence. That’s why I studied to become a psychologist. My first job was as a school psychologist.
Then I became a mother and found myself “immersed” in the world of Early Childhood: maternity wards, crèches, childminders, childcare centers (Lieux d’Accueil Enfants Parents – LAEP)… The desire to accompany parents on their path to parenthood and Early Childhood professionals in this exciting and challenging work became an obvious choice for me. Aware of the great responsibility that adults have towards the very young (the “becoming”, F.DOLTO) due to their neoteny, their dependence and the particularities of their development before the age of 3.
That’s how I came to work as a childminder in a childcare center and as a psychologist in a crèche, where the aim is to work together to provide a “considerate” welcome for the very young, in order to help them develop their potential. The aim is to work together to provide a “considerate” welcome for the very young, so that everyone can find their place and blossom in complete confidence, “unfolding and learning by exercising their vitality for discovery and play” (cf. Giampino report,2016).
Why is it important to take action from an early age?
Human beings develop throughout their lives, from birth to death. From the moment we are born in utero, our fetal senses are developing, alert and solicited. We are creatures of relationships, with others and with ourselves. That’s why tiny babies need adults to help them digest/integrate what’s going on inside them. And this begins at birth because they’re in the process of constructing themselves, and each of them needs :
. information from their different senses and their body in motion, to understand and learn
. our gaze to feel they exist and are reassured, to feel that our attention is focused on what they are experiencing, feeling and expressing (long before words).
. to be in a relationship, to gradually adjust and find their place in the world.
How can the setting of a crèche or Relais Petite Enfance support your work?
In day-care centers, I work closely with the professionals. I support the staff in their professional practice, in their day-to-day work with the children, through observation, reflection, exchanges and the preparation of pedagogical days… Among other things, we think about the different play activities that could be offered to the children to meet their needs.
At the Relais Petite Enfance, where I work alongside an early childhood educator and a midwife/childcare worker, I offer future parents and then new parents a place where they can discuss their questions, doubts and desires. So they know they’re not alone, and that there are places and resource people nearby (RPE, Lieu d’Accueil Enfant Parent, PMI…).
The pregnancy period, often focused on the medical side of things, can leave little room for the expression of feelings, doubts and emotions… It can be a time of vulnerability, with the recognition of first-trimester symptoms, a cultural gap, fears, over-information from social networks, the question of different ways of looking after young children, a “psychological upheaval” ….
After the birth, I welcome mothers and parents with their babies for up to 3 or 4 months. Mothers don’t stay long in the maternity hospital after the birth, and can sometimes find themselves alone at home, feeling a little helpless. It’s an opportunity for these parents to talk to each other, to break their isolation, and to realize that they have common questions about sleep, feeding, the child’s needs and their own needs… Of course, there’s no universal instruction manual, and my job is to suggest regular mutual adjustments, a tuning that suits each and every one.
You helped write the book “Bébés Covid, enfants du confinement”: what is it about?
The book “Bébés Covid, enfants du confinement” (Covid babies, children of confinement) is a collective work which highlights the need to take into account the human and social sciences in crisis management, and in particular the role of psychologists. This role is situated at different levels: in clinical work with patients in different institutions (PMI, hospitals, day-care centers, etc.), in reflection and analysis of experiences, but also as a force for proposals. This is a “whistle-blower” book that “revisits” the Covid 19 pandemic from the point of view of families, children, professionals, institutions and society, through numerous testimonials. It’s important not to forget, and to benefit from the experience of the past in future crises.
What issues can you testify to that affect children up to around the age of 3?
Children always have a thirst for discovery, they’re curious and wonder. It’s their sensory and motor experiences that enable them to analyze and understand the world around them. They are “sensor watchers”, eager to explore.
Once they feel secure in their environment, they are eager to discover. Discovering with the 5 senses means learning with the whole being. We know that it’s from the earliest age that the brain is most responsive to discovery, and that stimulating the senses enables the development of the brain, language, memory, learning, curiosity and empathy.
It’s by getting used to focusing attention on sensory information that we train concentration
concentration, arouses curiosity, and encourages sharing with others, attention to others, and encounters with difference. Encouraging olfactory awakening from an early age, for example, also enables a different approach to food.
Realizing the need for sensory and motor experiences in the development of young children is an asset for today’s children.
