Who is Inês:

My name is Inês Ricardo. I have been working in clinical psychology since 1996, providing psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults.

Alongside my clinical practice, I worked for ten years as a psychologist in a nursery school. I eventually had to leave that position due to lack of time when I became a mother. I have always missed that work deeply — the experience of being part of a school, a place of childhood, where there is always so much to learn, whenever we have the possibility and openness to listen and observe.

When the opportunity arose to do similar work at ADECO, I embraced the invitation with great joy.

And so, here I am today. Inspired by ideas from the educators and the management team, we are finally putting into motion this initiative: a circle of conversations about the themes that childhood evokes in us — whether through the questions that unsettle us or the wonders that captivate us.

What Inês would like to share with us:

“The idea of getting together to talk comes, first and foremost, from the deep curiosity that this world of children awakens in us.

And, inspired by what children teach us, we too can talk — which is another way of saying play, something children know how to do so well — and, together, learn how to better live with our doubts, our worries, and those moments when, as parents and educators, we feel lost.

Talking, listening to others’ experiences, sharing our own concerns — all of this helps us face things more calmly, with time and space. And with the help of the knowledge that psychology and pedagogy offer us about child development and the emotional life of childhood.

One day I overheard a wonderful conversation between a girl and a boy, both five years old, during playtime in ADECO’s playground:

The girl said: ‘I’m not going to invite X (another five-year-old girl) to my birthday.’

The boy – … (waits)

The girl – ‘Do you know why?’

The boy – ‘Why?’ (even a five-year-old boy knows that sometimes, when talking to a girl, it’s good to say something!)

The girl – ‘Because I’m jealous of her.’

So simple — being able to share what she feels, even if it isn’t pretty. I smiled and felt much more at ease. I imagine that, after saying this out loud, she could then invite all the girls and boys she wanted to. (The girl who had provoked that jealousy was a close friend — she just needed someone to listen, to help untangle that knot and soothe her feelings.)

There are so many topics we could explore (and we’re open to suggestions). I thought of starting at the end of early childhood — just to mix things up a bit — focusing on those last years of pure fantasy, when reality and imagination are still intertwined in the inner world of 4- and 5-year-olds.

How can we tell the difference between lies and imagination?

What should we do when a child shares a secret?

What exactly are night terrors?

What is “normal,” and what should concern us, in a child’s behaviour?

How can we know if we’re truly managing to care for them, especially when something particular worries us?

We invite everyone who wishes to join us to come on Friday, the 24th, at 6:30 p.m.”

Inês Ricardo