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Raising children? Have to deal with someone else's? Considering a family?Let's talk kids!Claudia Quigg hosts this weekly reflection on best practices, experiences, and research related to child rearing and parenting. Thursdays at 12:50 PM and 7:50 PM

Let's Talk Kids - "Learning To Listen, From The Best"

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NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

This essay lands somewhere between a tribute and a love letter to my mentor and dear friend, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton.  Berry turned 98 this week, reveling with the same brilliance he has celebrated 97 birthdays before.

Berry is world-renowned for his astonishing career achievements.  Professor Emeritus of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, he founded the Child Development Unit at Boston Children’s Hospital. His decades of clinical research resulted in the publication of more than 200 scholarly papers and more than 30 books on child development.

His charismatic personality draws children, parents, and professionals to him, eager to connect with his passionate positivity.  It’s no wonder he even won an Emmy for his long-running television program, “What Every Baby Knows.”  

In my mind, Berry’s most important contribution has been to really learn to look at a young child, and to bring many along with him on that journey.  Berry taught me and thousands of others to observe purposefully in order to “listen” to what a child tells us by his behavior.

His Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS, or “The Brazelton”) assesses individual attributes of newborns, identifying strengths, responses, availability for interaction, and possible vulnerabilities.  An adaptation, The Newborn Behavioral Observation, is used with parents to understand more about the newborn and to support their parent-child connection.

If anyone has reason to claim the title of “expert,” it’s Berry Brazelton.  But instead he uses his deep knowledge to facilitate children and parents telling their “stories,” honoring their expertise.  He recognizes and affirms the competencies infants bring into the world, and that parents bring to their babies.

This work of using the behavior of children as the professional’s language with parents led to the development of the Touchpoints Approach, taught by the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Boston Children’s.  Touchpoints trains professionals from medicine, family support and early childhood education to be more impactful working with families.

Berry’s insatiable curiosity has led him around the globe studying how culture and biology account for differences in children and families.  His amazing career has been described in a memoir entitled Learning to Listen: A Life Caring for Children.

Berry has no plans to retire.  His enthusiasm is ignited by every new child and parent he meets.   
For me, Berry is a dear friend and role model who has changed me profoundly. I will be forever grateful that he’s helped me learn to listen.
 

Claudia Quigg is the Executive Director of Baby TALK and writes the Let's Talk Kids parenting segment and column that honor the expertise parents have about their own children and explores issues that are universal for families. From toilet training and sibling rivalry to establishing family values, Claudia Quigg provides thoughtful and accessible insights that are meaningful to families' needs.
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