dance of reciprocity

i went to a 2-day training (for my work) last week which extensively explained how "the baby is the father of man".  the discussions involved theoretical foundations such as containment, reciprocity and behaviour management.  in my humble opinion, this simply translates to how crucial parenting skills are in how we turn out as adults.

we were given an assignment: to look for the dance of reciprocity in our everyday lives.

what is the dance of reciprocity?  

it describes the sophisticated interaction between a baby and an adult where both are involved in the initiation, regulation and termination of the interaction.  it can also be used to describe the interaction within all relationships.  it involves initiation, orientation, state of attention, acceleration, peak of excitement, deceleration and withdrawal or turning away (Brazelton, 1974).

while i was enjoying a lovely sunny spring morning sitting at the piazza last week with a friend, i saw the most incredible example of the dance of reciprocity right before my very eyes.

i spotted this little girl tirelessly chasing pigeons while her mum was busy talking to a friend. Daisy Duck meanwhile was just coming out from the side of the street.  the moment the little girl saw her, she ran squealing towards Daisy with open arms. Daisy also opened her arms immediately and they shared the warmest of hugs, the peak of their excitement.  and then they would let go and the little girl would look up to Daisy and smile and ran around her and hugged her again.  they would do this dance over and over again until the little girl was called by her mum.  and then they waved goodbye and blew kisses at each other.

this picture of utter happiness stayed with me all throughout that day and even until now.

so happy to see you!