25 July 2018
As adult theatre-makers, we can easily forget how we experienced our own childhoods, and sometimes it can be daunting to know what these early year audiences need form the theatrical encounter. So we were honoured to be joined by Astrid Berg today, providing a much needed lecture detailing and managing the participants' expectations as to what to expect from early year audiences. She explained the psychological development of children during the different stages of childhood development from infancy to 7 years of age. The participants became very interested in asking further questions, trying to grasp how to understand the world of a young child better. They also raised important questions regarding best practices of raising children, and even at points, facing their own prejudices and personal choices around raising children.
Astrid Berg is a Psychiatrist, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist as well as a Jungian Analyst. She was Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and a senior consultant in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town where she headed the UCT Parent-Infant Mental Health Service before retiring in 2015. She continues her work with the infant parent couple and does widespread local and international work.