Donna Stichbury

The Relationship Facilitator

The Misunderstood Child and the Healing Adult

What changes for a child with big behaviours when the adults around them change first.

Unfolding relational patterns in the educational environment through the Pikler lens

Why this thesis exists

Some children are not difficult. They are communicating more loudly.

Many early childhood centres do beautiful work. The spaces are calm, the adults are kind, the philosophy is clear. And still, a few children arrive with needs that even the most thoughtfully prepared environment cannot meet on its own.

This thesis began in one of those centres, on the day a centre owner put her hands on her head and said she had done everything she had learned, and this was still happening. It was not a failure of her practice. It was a group of children asking for something more.

What follows is an honest account of what happened when a small, contained relational space was offered to three children, and what shifted in the adults who watched, reflected and changed alongside them.

The case study

A small room, a closed door, and time to be heard

In a New Zealand early childhood centre, three children around four years old were offered short Interplay sessions in a contained space away from the busy day. The children were chosen through observation and need, not through any diagnosis.

The adults did not direct. They watched, waited, reflected, and let the children lead.

All children were fully anonymised, with consent from the centre, staff and parents. Interplay was created by Donna Berry (Rego) and is credited as the foundation of the sessions.

A final word

Some misunderstood children need more

These children are not broken. They are communicating. And when an adult sits with them, truly sits with them, regulated, present and genuinely curious, their mana returns.

This thesis was written to be read by someone with the power to change something: policy makers, centre owners, and everyone navigating impossible pressures while trying to care well for children.

More presence. More adults who have done their own inner work, and can truly see the child in front of them.

Mauri Aroha. 🌿

[email protected]  |  donnastichbury.com

Copyright Donna Stichbury 2026. For personal use. Not to be copied or distributed without permission.

Contents

• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• Chapter 1: Introduction: My Pikler Journey
• Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
• Chapter 3: Methodology and Case Context
• Chapter 4: Pikler-Informed Practice in the Interplay Case
• Chapter 5: Reflection, Integration, and Implications
• Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion
• A Final Word: Some Misunderstood Children Need More
• Notes
• References
• Bibliography
• Appendix A: The Centre Environment
• Appendix B: The Case Study in Action
• Appendix C: Data Protection Disclaimer
• Appendix D: Author Declaration

Abstract

This thesis explores how relational attunement, emotional safety, and reflective practice can transform early childhood education environments, using a case study grounded in the Interplay framework. Conducted in a New Zealand early childhood centre, the study focuses on three children identified as requiring additional relational support and the adult responses that facilitated shifts in behaviour, regulation, and connection.

The research draws on Emmi Pikler pedagogy, which emphasises respect, restraint, trust, and the internalisation of relational principles by adults, alongside neurobiologically informed approaches to emotional regulation. Interplay sessions were implemented in a contained micro-environment, providing symbolic play materials and relational scaffolding that allowed children to express internal states while enabling adults to reflect on their own emotional responses and triggers.

Findings indicate that meaningful change occurred primarily within adults: when teachers engaged in self-reflection, attunement, and relational presence, children's behaviours shifted naturally, demonstrating increased self- and co-regulation, peer collaboration, and verbal expression of feelings. The study underscores that relational awareness, rather than techniques or interventions, is the foundation for supporting children's emotional development.

The thesis also situates this work within the cultural and structural context of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand, highlighting systemic constraints, regulatory pressures, and the compatibility of Pikler principles with Māori models of holistic wellbeing, such as Te Wheke.

This research contributes to early childhood education by illustrating how adult internal growth, reflective practice, and relational holding create conditions in which children can flourish. It affirms that Pikler approach is not merely a set of practices but a lived stance, guiding adults to foster environments of safety, respect, and trust.

Keywords: Pikler approach, relational attunement, emotional regulation, behaviour challenges, Interplay, adult self-awareness, trauma-informed practice, early childhood education, felt safety, Aotearoa New Zealand

Acknowledgements

This journey has been deeply relational, and it would not have been possible without the guidance, generosity, and presence of many remarkable people.

I am profoundly grateful to Pennie Brownlee, whose work in Dance With Me in the Heart first illuminated a way of being with children that prioritises respect, attunement, and relational safety. Her teaching continues to shape not only my practice but my understanding of what it means to accompany children and adults with care and presence.

To Donna Rego (Berry), whom I met more recently on this journey: thank you for your ground-breaking ideas on supporting misunderstood children, for your continued and growing friendship, and for the profound role you have played in my own healing journey, from Fearful Avoidant to Earned Secure attachment. Your work has been both a professional guide and a personal inspiration.

I am deeply thankful to the Pikler Institute, particularly Jutka Kelemen and Andrea Szőke, for deepening my understanding of Pikler work through their thoughtful mentorship. The moments we observed the Russian orphanage together, and the reflections that followed, left an indelible mark on my professional and personal growth.

To Andrea in the office, who always made me feel like I belonged at the Pikler Institute and whose presence I looked forward to each year; and to Alex, for his brilliant translations and the joy he brought to every session, thank you for making this experience both accessible and joyful.

To my mentor Mária, thank you for opening my heart and mind, and for asking questions that led me to look at myself in ways I did not even realise were there. Even reading this back now, I still cannot believe this work came from me; your guidance made it possible.

To Zsuzsa Libertiny, thank you for your guidance, wisdom, and reminders to “start where you can”. Your words have been a compass in moments of uncertainty and have shaped the way I entered new professional contexts with humility and trust. I am deeply thankful to the early childhood centre staff and children who participated in this study. Your openness, curiosity, and trust allowed for a micro-space of relational learning, where observation and reflection became as powerful as any structured programme.

To my husband Sam and my children Logan and Ayla, you have been my inspiration, my guidance, and my north star. Your love, patience, and belief in me made this work possible.

For all my ECE friends in New Zealand, special thanks to Leona, Nina, Kelsey, Aiyanna, Leanne and Mariette, who have nurtured my growth and supported me in ways that cannot be fully expressed in words.

To all the challenges I have encountered along this journey, thank you for shaping me into the practitioner I am today.

Finally, to my mum, dad, and sisters Sandra and Sue, and for the trauma journey we navigated as a family: our shared growth and healing have taught me resilience, empathy, and the power of relational presence.

This thesis is a testament to relational learning, how we are shaped by those who guide us, and how our own presence can, in turn, shape the lives of children and adults around us. At its heart, this work is dedicated to the children who teach us every day about presence, resilience, and the transformative power of felt safety.

Dedication

With all my love, I dedicate this work to my husband, Sam, and my children, Logan and Ayla, who are my inspiration, my guiding light, and my constant north star.

I also dedicate this thesis to my Mum, Dad, and my two sisters, Sandra and Sue. My sister Sandra died at 10 months, on 12 September 1965, and our family was thrown into trauma that no one spoke about. We survived something in those days that was not spoken of, and yet here we are.

I am deeply grateful to all at the Pikler Institute who have shown me, through their guidance and presence, what I should have received as a child. Through this incredible nine-year journey, I have moved from being fearful-avoidant to earned secure, learning what it means to be seen, held, and trusted.

Thank you for the work you do for children and for all who walk beside them.

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Chapter 1: Introduction: My Pikler Journey

1.1 Introduction

This thesis emerges from my lived experience as an early childhood educator, a parent, and a human being shaped by relationships. My engagement with the Pikler Approach has developed over years of professional practice, study, and personal reflection, and it is grounded in both my respect for the wisdom of Piklerian mentors and my own journey of discovery.

I did not grow up in Aotearoa New Zealand. My early experiences with education, culture, and relational practices were shaped elsewhere, which influenced how I perceive child development and adult-child relationships. When I began working in New Zealand as an Early Childhood Education (ECE) teacher, I encountered a system rich in possibilities yet constrained by structural pressures. It was here that I began to connect deeply with Pikler approach, not as a set of techniques, but as a philosophy that resonated with my understanding of human relationality and emotional attunement.

1.2 First ECE Placement and Early Practice

My first professional experience in New Zealand came immediately after completing my ECE training, when I began working with children aged two to five in a low socio-economic community predominantly made up of Māori, Pasifika, and refugee families. As a new and inexperienced team, we naturally gravitated toward relationship-based practice, recognising that many families required additional parenting support.

At the time, my teaching relied heavily on activity-based, adult-led practices. Despite this, I observed clear and lasting changes in children when they experienced relational stability, even before I had the language or theoretical understanding to explain it. I noticed that children’s challenging behaviours, aggression, loud play, and boundary-testing were often expressions of unmet emotional needs. This early experience laid the groundwork for my later engagement with the Pikler approach, as I sought ways to respond with attunement rather than control.

1.3 Encountering Pikler

My first meaningful engagement with Pikler work occurred through a workshop led by Kimberley Crisp on social competence. Although I had briefly studied Pikler during my degree, it was this workshop that made the philosophy tangible. I witnessed adults being fully present with children, listening beneath behaviour, and honouring the child's autonomy. It crystallised what I had felt intuitively: that children thrive when met with trust, respect, and attunement.

A colleague later observed, Donna, the way you talk about children aligns far more with what Pennie Brownlee teaches in Dance With Me in the Heart and what Kimberley teaches through Pikler. That conversation encouraged me to undertake Pennie Brownlee's eight-day retreat, self-funded, which fundamentally transformed my understanding of teaching. I moved away from being an entertainment officer and toward embodying presence, patience, and relational awareness.

1.4 Academic Reflections and the Power Essay

During my degree studies, I explored the concept of sharing power between adults and children. My final power essay captured the tension between what I believed and what I was able to enact in practice. I recognised a gap between theoretical understanding and lived relational practice, particularly with infants and toddlers, and this gap became central to my journey toward Pikler-informed pedagogy.

1.5 The Russian Orphanage and Mentor Wisdom

A defining moment occurred during my first Pikler course in Sydney, led by Jutka Kelemen and Andrea Szőke. We were shown videos from a Russian orphanage taken six months apart. Many participants reacted with shock, comparing the caregivers to practices in New Zealand. Jutka paused and said:

And there has been improvement. That is the important aspect. In six months, this caregiver has changed, yes, small changes, but movement forward.

Her words anchored a critical lesson: change is incremental, relational, and possible when adults are supported. During the same course, she shared another insight that became a personal guiding principle:

Everyone has love in their hearts, and some people need the steps to get there.

This phrase profoundly shaped my approach to both children and adults. It reminded me that behaviour is often a form of communication, that all humans possess the capacity for relational growth, and that patience, reflection, and attunement are essential in supporting change.

1.6 Continuing Guidance: Zsuzsa Libertiny

Zsuzsa Libertiny, a Pikler mentor whose guidance I received during a final elective, emphasised starting where you can: placing the child at the heart of the matter and allowing relational trust to lead. Her words shaped my approach when introducing relational frameworks such as Interplay into early childhood environments: start with safety, reflection, and attunement, and let integration occur organically.

1.7 The Moment That Started the Case Study

I became involved with this centre through a longstanding personal and professional relationship with the owner. We had met seven years earlier through Dance With Me in the Heart, and over time our relationship had continued to grow. When she invited me to visit the centre she now owned, I arrived to find an environment that reflected years of intentional, loving work. She had transformed the space completely, guided by Pennie Brownlee's teachings, and the difference was visible in every corner.

We were sitting together in this calm, settled environment when suddenly there was an eruption of what she described as big behaviours involving two children in the sandpit. In that moment, she placed her hands on her head and said: “I have done everything I have learnt from Pennie, and still this happens, and parents complain.”

I sat with that moment for a long time afterwards. It was not a failure of her practice or of Pennie's teaching. Pennie Brownlee understood the New Zealand context deeply and shaped her work accordingly. The evidence of that understanding was visible everywhere in this centre, in the environment, in the relationships, in the owner herself. What I was witnessing was something else: a group of children whose needs went beyond what even the most beautifully prepared environment could meet. They needed something more, and they were communicating that loudly.

It was this moment that led me to introduce Interplay within a small, contained space away from the centre's daily life. Not as a replacement for anything that was already there, but as a way of listening more closely to what these particular children were trying to say.

1.8 Personal Reflection and Guiding Hypothesis

Throughout this journey, my understanding of Pikler approach has evolved. It is not about intervention or technique; it is about a stance of presence, restraint, and relational awareness. My mentors, Pennie Brownlee, Kimberley Crisp, Jutka Kelemen, Andrea Szőke, and Zsuzsa Libertiny, did not simply teach me methods; they modelled ways of being in the world, demonstrating that adult growth and reflection are inseparable from supporting children. As I reflect, I realise that Pikler work was already living within me before I had the language to describe it. Respect, patience, and relational attunement were present in my interactions with children, even when my practice had not fully aligned with the philosophy.

This understanding leads me to the guiding hypothesis of this study:

When educators become aware of their own emotional patterns, they can better perceive and respond to the true needs of children, fostering relational attunement, emotional safety, and co-regulated learning within early childhood education settings.

This hypothesis frames the investigation of how relational awareness, reflective practice, and attunement within a micro-environment can influence both adult and child experiences. It positions the adult internal world as central to supporting children's emotional regulation and learning, reflecting a core principle of Pikler pedagogy: that relationship and presence come before instruction or intervention.

1.9 Objectives and Motivation

My motivation for this study is inseparable from my personal and professional journey. As an early childhood educator who did not grow up in Aotearoa New Zealand, I came to this work carrying both the richness of different cultural perspectives and the humility of an outsider learning to see children through a new lens. From my first ECE placement in a low socio-economic community of Māori, Pasifika, and refugee families, I observed that children's most challenging behaviours were not problems to be managed but communications to be understood. This observation became the seed of everything that followed.

My engagement with the Pikler approach, through workshops with Kimberley Crisp, Pennie Brownlee's eight-day retreat, and nine years of study with the Pikler Institute, deepened my conviction that the adult's inner world is the most powerful variable in any child's experience. I wanted to explore this conviction in practice, not through a controlled experiment, but through a lived, relational case study that honoured the complexity of real children and real adults in a real New Zealand setting.

The objectives of this study are threefold. First, to examine how adult self-awareness and reflective practice influence children's emotional regulation and behaviour within an early childhood setting. Second, to explore how the Interplay framework, developed by Donna Berry (Rego), extends and complements Pikler principles in supporting misunderstood children. Third, to contribute to the growing body of relational, trauma-informed practice in Aotearoa New Zealand ECE by offering an honest account of what changes when adults change first.

A further question sits beneath this study: why do some children need more than what even the most beautifully prepared environment can offer? The answer this thesis proposes is not that these children are more difficult, but that they are communicating more urgently. They carry experiences that require a regulated, attuned adult in a contained relational space. Not more resources, but more presence.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

2.1 Pikler Pedagogy: Principles and Relational Stance

Emmi Pikler's work in Budapest emphasised respect for children as autonomous beings capable of self-directed learning within consistent and attuned relationships (Pikler, 2006; Tardos, 2010). Four principles underpin this study.

Respect for autonomy and self-directed learning

Pikler positioned children as competent agents whose exploration should be self-initiated. Adults support rather than direct, enabling the development of agency and confidence.

Observation over intervention

Observation is understood as relational attentiveness in which adults notice emotional cues and respond through reflection rather than correction (Tardos, 2007).

Continuity of care and emotional security

Consistent relationships provide the foundation for emotional security and exploration (Bowlby, 1988; Ainsworth et al., 1978), supporting children's movement from dysregulation toward engagement.

Rhythm and restraint

Following a child's internal and external rhythms supports the development of self-regulation. Adult restraint allows emotional expression and play to unfold organically (Pikler, 2006).

Within the Aotearoa New Zealand context, Rockel and Fryer (2016) argue that slowed, calm, and respectful practice enhances teachers' sensitivity to infants' cues and supports reciprocal relationships. While these approaches may be constrained by ratios and regulatory pressures, they provide an important relational and ethical foundation for practice (Tardos, 2010).

2.2 Adult-Child Relational Attunement and Interplay

Relational attunement, the adult's capacity to perceive and respond to a child's emotional state, is central to early childhood pedagogy. Interpersonal neurobiology positions emotional regulation as relationally mediated, with attuned adult presence supporting children's movement toward engagement and integration (Siegel, 1999, 2012).

Interplay, developed by Donna Berry (2020), extends Pikler principles through co-regulation, symbolic play, and reflective adult practice, emphasising internal adult awareness rather than behavioural control strategies. Grounded in the work of Schore (2019), Maté (2019), and Siegel (1999), it integrates right-brain neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, and interpersonal neurobiology to support children whose emotional needs are not being met by the environment alone. Emerging research supports the effectiveness of this relational approach. Hatam, Moss, Cubillo, and Berry (2021) found that filial therapy, a relational intervention sharing core principles with Interplay, significantly reduced symptoms of disinhibited social engagement disorder in foster children aged three to six, with improvements attributed to rebuilding and enhancing the relationship between child and caregiver rather than to behavioural strategies.

Schore (2019) demonstrates that attunement operates largely through implicit, right-brain-to-right-brain communication, including tone of voice, facial expression, and bodily presence. This is the level at which Interplay operates, beneath language, beneath strategy, in the space where one nervous system meets another. Porges' (2011) Polyvagal Theory explains how the ventral vagal system supports social engagement and emotional safety, providing the neurobiological foundation for why a regulated adult presence matters so profoundly.

What this means in practice is that the adult's own nervous system is not background, it is the instrument. Desautels (2023) makes this explicit in educational contexts, showing that when adults become aware of their own nervous system states they can move from reaction to response, from control to connection. Gobbel (2023) reinforces this from the perspective of adults caring for children with big and baffling behaviours, demonstrating that co-regulation is not a skill to apply but a state to inhabit, one the adult must first find in themselves.

2.3 Emotional Regulation, Attachment, and Trauma-Informed

Practice

Attachment theory provides insight into the relational mechanisms underpinning emotional regulation. Secure attachment relationships support exploration, engagement, and co-regulation (Bowlby, 1988; Ainsworth et al., 1978), while interpersonal neurobiology and Polyvagal Theory highlight the importance of physiological safety in supporting emotional integration and social engagement (Porges, 2011; Siegel, 1999, 2012).

Trauma-informed approaches similarly conceptualise behaviour as communication of unmet emotional or relational needs rather than deliberate defiance (Maté, 2019; Delahooke, 2019; van der Kolk, 2014 ). This reframing aligns closely with Pikler pedagogy and Interplay practice, emphasising emotional safety, reflective adult response, and relational attunement over correction or control.

Brown (2012) further argues that vulnerability and authentic relational presence are foundational to trust and connection, reinforcing the importance of adult self-awareness within co-regulatory relationships.

2.4 Cultural and Structural Context in Aotearoa New Zealand

Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand operates within structural conditions shaped by funding constraints, regulatory requirements, and child-to-teacher ratios (Ministry of Education, 2017). Despite these pressures, relationally attuned practice remains both possible and culturally resonant.

Pikler principles align closely with Māori perspectives on holistic wellbeing. Rose Pere's Te Wheke model emphasises the interconnectedness of emotional, relational, and collective wellbeing (Pere, 1991), while Te Whāriki foregrounds empowerment, holistic development, and relationships as central strands of practice (Ministry of Education, 2017). Rockel and Fryer (2016) suggest these perspectives align with respectful, relationally attuned approaches to infant pedagogy.

2.5 Synthesis and Conceptual Framework

The literature reviewed demonstrates that children's emotional regulation is inseparable from adult relational attunement and reflective practice. Pikler pedagogy provides the relational stance of observation, trust, restraint, rhythm, and respect, while Interplay, attachment theory, neurobiology, and trauma-informed approaches explain how adult awareness shapes children's emotional experience. Together, these perspectives position the adult's internal state as central to the relational environment in which children's regulation develops.

Critical Reflexive Considerations

While these perspectives provide a strong conceptual foundation, limitations within their integration must be acknowledged. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1988; Ainsworth et al., 1978) was originally concerned with enduring relational patterns rather than moment-to-moment pedagogical interaction, and its application here represents a conceptual extension.

Similarly, neurobiological frameworks such as Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011) and interpersonal neurobiology (Siegel, 1999) risk oversimplification when translated into educational practice. However, Desautels (2019), Gobbel (2023), Delahooke (2019), and Maguire (2024) provide important practical applications of these theories, grounding neurobiological concepts within relational and educational contexts.

Importantly, Pikler's original work focused primarily on respectful care, autonomy, and movement rather than emotional regulation as conceptualised in contemporary neuroscience. Its use in this study therefore reflects reinterpretation through a modern relational lens (Pikler, 2006; Tardos, 2010). Likewise, the integration of Māori perspectives, particularly Te Wheke (Pere, 1991), requires care to avoid simplification when aligning Indigenous epistemologies with Western theoretical frameworks. Recognising these limitations positions the framework as a considered synthesis rather than a unified theory.

2.6 Research Gap and Rationale

Despite extensive literature on attachment, relational pedagogy, and trauma-informed practice, limited research has examined how educators' self-awareness and emotional regulation shape moment-to-moment co-regulation within philosophy-driven early childhood settings. This study addresses this gap by integrating Pikler pedagogy, Interplay, and neurobiological perspectives to explore how adult reflection and attunement influence children's emotional regulation in practice. By focusing on the relational micro-environment, the study contributes to understanding how adult internal processes become visible in children's emotional and social development.

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Chapter 3: Methodology and Case Context

3.1 Research Design

A qualitative case study approach was selected to provide rich, detailed insight into the relational and emotional dynamics of a small group of children within a carefully observed and supported environment (Yin, 2018). The study is interpretive and reflective, privileging the perspectives of adults and children as co-participants in the relational field. Key principles guiding this design include relationality, children's behaviour is observed in the context of adult relationships, recognising that emotion and regulation are co-created; reflective practice, adults engage in structured reflection to notice patterns, triggers, and internal responses; and ethical sensitivity, consent, anonymity, and the emotional safety of all participants were prioritised throughout the study.

3.2 Researcher Positionality

I approach this study as both practitioner and researcher, a dual role that requires honesty, humility, and reflexivity. My engagement is shaped by professional training and experience in early childhood education, mentorship influences from Donna Berry (Rego), the Pikler Institute, Pennie Brownlee, and Kimberley Crisp, and a personal lens informed by growing up outside of New Zealand, parenthood, and personal reflection on attachment and relational safety. I am aware that my presence in the Interplay sessions is not neutral; it is an active, relational force, and this awareness is acknowledged as part of the data itself.

My thinking has been shaped by a wide range of theorists and practitioners whose work has informed my understanding of children, adults, and relationships. These include Emmi Pikler, Donna Berry (Rego), Gabor Maté, Dan Siegel, Stephen Porges, and Brené Brown. My professional journey is inseparable from my personal journey, and both shape how I interpret, observe, and respond to the children and adults in this study.

3.3 Case Context and Participants

The case study took place in a small, philosophy-driven early childhood centre in Aotearoa New Zealand. The centre values relational practice, open-ended play, and respect for children's autonomy, consistent with Pikler principles.

3.3.1 Children

Three children, all around four years of age, were the focus of the study. Identifying details have been anonymised, and informed consent was obtained from the centre and parents. These children were selected not through diagnostic criteria, but through observation and relational need. Common characteristics included heightened emotional intensity in peer interactions, difficulty tolerating transitions or shared attention, and strong impulses or control needs. These behaviours were interpreted as communicating unmet needs for safety, containment, and attuned adult presence, rather than as problems to be fixed.

3.3.2 Adults

The teaching team consisted of reflective practitioners already committed to relational pedagogy. My role was to provide a relational lens through Interplay sessions, allowing teachers to observe, reflect, and internalise shifts without instruction or imposed strategies. The centre owner, a long-time mentee of Pennie Brownlee, provided a context of continuity and deep respect for relational principles.

3.4 Interplay Sessions

3.4.1 Structure

Each child participated in 12 short Interplay sessions lasting approximately 40 minutes, conducted in a small, contained space within the centre. Sessions were designed to provide a safe relational micro-environment for the child, offer symbolic play objects to elicit emotional expression, allow teachers to participate with relational flow with children, and facilitate adult reflection during and after sessions.

3.4.2 Philosophical Approach

Interplay was not delivered as a behavioural intervention but as a lens for relational awareness. The sessions emphasised observation over action, waiting, watching, and attuning rather than directing or correcting; adult self-reflection, encouraging teachers and myself to notice internal responses; co-regulation, supporting children's nervous systems through calm presence; and trust in process, recognising that children's play and engagement unfold naturally when adults are attuned. The sessions were shaped by my internalisation of Pikler pedagogy, which prioritises restraint, rhythm, and respectful attunement.

3.5 Ethical Considerations

Ethical oversight was maintained throughout the study. Informed consent was obtained from parents, the centre, and staff. All identifying information was removed to protect anonymity and confidentiality. Sessions were designed to support emotional wellbeing for both children and adults, and ongoing supervision and reflection ensured that my presence and responses were ethical and responsible.

3.6 Integration of Heart and Practice

The heart of this work lies in recognising that adults’ internal shifts precede changes in children's behaviour. Throughout the study, I observed moments where trust, restraint, and attunement produced profound transformations: children gradually allowed co-regulation and shared responsibility for safety; teachers reported increased awareness of their emotional triggers and relational influence; and my own nervous system and reflective capacity were continually engaged, highlighting that Pikler-informed practice is as much about adult growth as it is about children's learning. The approach embodies the belief that everyone has love in their heart, echoing Jutka Kelemen's guidance, and demonstrates that meaningful change emerges when relational conditions are created, rather than when directives are imposed.

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Chapter 4: Pikler-Informed Practice in the Interplay Case

Study

Throughout this case study, Emmi Pikler's influence was not expressed through instruction, techniques, or formal intervention, but through an internalised stance shaping how I observed, waited, trusted, and related to both children and adults. Pikler pedagogy informed my practice through restraint, respect for rhythm, and deep trust in relational and developmental processes, particularly in moments where immediate action might have interrupted learning.

Pikler lived in me long before I spoke her name. When I entered the centre, I was guided not by theory to teach or correct, but by a felt sense of what the children and adults needed: safety, recognition, and relational attunement. Choosing not to introduce Pikler explicitly at first was a deliberate relational decision, allowing trust, safety, and connection to develop organically.

4.1 Observation Before Intervention

On my first visit, the centre owner reflected on challenges within the educational space, and my own impulses surfaced. My heart knew that responding immediately with critique or instruction would not serve the children, the staff, or the relational space. I relied on what Pikler had taught me: listen first, wait, trust, and respect the process of growth (Tardos, 2010). I held the space, internally bringing Pikler's values, restraint, respect, trust, and attentiveness, to guide my presence. In this way, Pikler was active not as a theory to cite, but as a living framework shaping my relational stance.

4.2 Holding Complexity: Pikler, Dance With Me in the Heart, and

Interplay

I want to be honest about something that has taken me years to understand. To this day I sometimes find it difficult to clearly separate what is Pikler and what is Dance With Me in the Heart. Both have shaped me profoundly. Both carry deep respect for children. And in Aotearoa New Zealand, they have often travelled together.

This is not a criticism of either approach. Pennie Brownlee understood the New Zealand context in ways that an approach developed in a Budapest institution could not automatically transfer. She made adaptations, and the deep, sustained work of the centre owner in this case study is evidence of how powerful those adaptations have been. Twenty years of mentorship by Pennie had produced an environment of genuine beauty and relational care.

What I came to understand through this case study is that the Pikler approach and Dance With Me in the Heart are two different things that can sit alongside one another with respect. And Interplay is a third thing entirely, a relational and neurobiologically informed approach that I brought into a contained space, away from the centre's everyday life, specifically to meet children whose needs were not being reached by the environment alone.

Keeping these modalities distinct has been important to me. When I am working with Interplay I am in a separate room. When I am drawing on the Pikler approach I am in a particular internal stance. And when I witness the owner's work with her environment and her staff, I see Dance With Me in the Heart alive and functioning beautifully (Brownlee, 2013). All three can be present without conflict, provided we are honest about which is which and why.

4.3 Building Safety and Trust

The dilemma of whether to introduce Pikler explicitly became an opportunity to embody her philosophy. My actions reflected her principles rather than words: pausing before responding to children’s intense behaviours, observing closely, and reflecting internally; allowing children's play to unfold without interruption, offering co-regulation only when needed; and supporting teachers' reflections without positioning myself as an expert, trusting that learning occurs through lived experience rather than instruction.

This stance built trust with both children and adults. Children learned that adults could be steady, calm, and attuned even amid emotional intensity. Teachers began to feel safe in reflecting on their own responses without fear of judgement. Pikler lived in these moments, not as a methodology, but as a way of being with others.

4.4 Contained Relational Space

The Interplay sessions functioned as a contained relational micro-environment, where children could explore, express, and process emotions safely, and where adults could witness, reflect, and grow. In the first sessions, children were invited into the space gradually. Observation dominated early moments, and materials were placed intentionally to support emotional expression, not dictate play. As sessions continued, children allowed me small participations, for example, sharing responsibility for safety in dramatic play. These moments required restraint, attunement, and trust, reflecting the heart of Pikler pedagogy (Pikler, 2006). Visual documentation of session setup, symbolic play materials, and relational arrangements can be found in Appendix B.

4.5 Vulnerability and Emotional Truth

After a school break, one child returned visibly dysregulated. There was no immediate behaviour, but the emotional undercurrent was intense. I allowed myself to name my perception of the child's fear:

I can feel how scared you are. You do not need to show me anymore.

This naming acknowledged emotional truth without directing behaviour. Shortly after, the child sought comfort and allowed closeness. Pikler's influence was evident: relationship and presence preceded instruction, and self-regulation emerged from felt safety and trust rather than correction (Tardos, 2010; Porges, 2011).

4.6 Adult Learning and Reflection

Teachers observed the sessions over time and began to notice shifts in themselves and in the children. Their learning arose not from demonstration or instruction, but from witnessing attunement in action. Adults became increasingly aware of their emotional patterns and habitual responses, aligning explicitly with Pikler principles of adult reflection and relational responsibility (Tardos, 2007). This demonstrates the hypothesis in practice: adult awareness of internal patterns created the conditions for children to feel seen, understood, and regulated.

4.7 Alignment with Pikler Principles

Throughout these sessions, core Pikler principles were embodied: respect for children's autonomy in play and engagement; continuity of care through teachers' reflective presence ensuring relational consistency; observation over intervention, with adults watching, listening, and reflecting rather than directing behaviour; and trust in development, with progress occurring gradually in line with each child's rhythm (Tardos, 2010; Pikler, 2006).

4.8 Concluding Reflection

Pikler informed this work not through named strategies but through embodied principles: restraint, observation, trust, rhythm, and respect. The most meaningful shifts occurred when adults held back, listened, and allowed growth to emerge naturally. Children experienced safety and connection, and adults experienced insight, reflection, and relational growth. Change was relational first, procedural second, demonstrating that Pikler's influence is strongest when it is felt, embodied, and lived rather than named.

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Chapter 5: Reflection, Integration, and Implications

5.1 Integration of Learning

The Interplay sessions highlighted that change begins within the adult. Observing, reflecting, and embodying relational attunement allowed teachers to see themselves as integral to children's capacity for regulation and engagement. Choosing not to name Pikler immediately was itself a Piklerian act. By waiting, listening, and trusting the relational process, I honoured the children's needs and the staff readiness to learn. Pikler lived in actions, not words.

Key lessons include: for children, safety, relational attunement, and space to express emotions, foster natural development and self-regulation; for adults, growth emerges through reflection, observation, and embodied relational awareness rather than instruction or correction.

5.2 Cultural and Structural Reflections

Pikler-informed practice in Aotearoa New Zealand must be understood in context. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori worldviews, and models such as Dr Rose Pere Te Wheke (1991) align with the Pikler approach: valuing holistic development, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Structural constraints, funding models, regulatory pressures, and business priorities, can limit full implementation. Even within these limitations, heart-led, relationally attuned practice is possible and provides a model for teachers, mentors, and policymakers.

5.3 Mentorship, Lineage, and Adult Learning

The guidance of mentors such as Donna Berry (Rego), the Pikler Institute, and Pennie Brownlee demonstrates the importance of adult relational growth. Adults learn not only through instruction but through relationship, observation, and reflection.

5.4 Implications for Practice

Several key implications arise from the case study. Relational awareness precedes behavioural change: supporting children is inseparable from supporting adults in their own reflection and regulation. Trust and presence are transformative: children respond when adults are attuned, consistent, and genuinely engaged (Siegel, 1999). Observation of symbolic play matters: loose parts, dramatic structures, and objects provide insight into children's inner emotional world. Team culture and adult relational safety influence children's behaviour: adults’ emotional regulation shapes the micro-environment (Porges, 2011). These findings support the study hypothesis: when educators become aware of their emotional patterns, they can better perceive and respond to children's needs.

5.5 Personal Reflections and Growth

This journey reaffirmed that small changes matter. I am reminded of Jutka Kelemen's wisdom: Everyone has love in their heart, and some people need the steps to get there. Pikler lives within the practitioner, in calm, patient listening, in respect for rhythm, and in the willingness to hold complexity in relationships. This stance is not a methodology to impose, but a way of being to inhabit.

5.6 Conclusion

This chapter has demonstrated that meaningful change in early childhood settings begins not with strategies or programmes, but with the adult. When educators reflect on their own emotional patterns, observe with genuine curiosity, and offer attuned presence, children respond, not because they have been directed to, but because the conditions for their natural growth have been created.

The Pikler approach lived in this chapter not as theory but as practice: in the patience of waiting, in the respect for each child's rhythm, in the trust that when adults change internally, children follow. The Interplay sessions were the container, but the real work happened in the adults, in their growing awareness, their willingness to sit with discomfort, and their capacity to see children differently.

This is what Jutka Kelemen meant when she said everyone has love in their heart and some people need the steps to get there. The steps in this chapter were taken by the adults. And the children felt every one of them.

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Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion

6.1 Discussion of Key Findings

6.1.1 Adult Emotional Awareness as the Catalyst

The central finding of this study is that change began with the adults. Teachers and the centre owner became increasingly aware of their own emotional triggers and habitual responses, allowing them to pause, reflect, and respond attunedly rather than reactively (Siegel, 2012). As adults embodied relational safety, children's behaviour shifted, from physical intensity and emotional dysregulation toward co-regulation, verbal expression of feelings, and self-directed play. Adult awareness of internal patterns created the conditions for children to feel seen, understood, and regulated.

6.1.2 Relational Attunement and Felt Safety

Consistent with the Pikler approach, felt safety was foundational to engagement and learning (Tardos, 2010). Children’s challenging behaviours were reframed as communication rather than disruption, and through attuned adult presence, children moved from dysregulation toward self- and co-regulation (Porges, 2011). Play became a medium through which emotional states were expressed and processed. The quality of adult reflection and presence proved more influential than new strategies, curriculum changes, or additional materials.

6.1.3 Symbolic Play and Emotional Narrative

Symbolic play provided a bridge between children's inner experiences and adult understanding (Vygotsky, 1978). Loose parts, dramatic structures, and objects became vehicles for children to explore and communicate emotion safely. Adult reflection on their responses to this play, noticing triggers, assumptions, and biases, deepened relational attunement and allowed children's true needs to be perceived more clearly.

6.1.4 Micro-Environment as a Relational Laboratory

The 40-minute Interplay sessions functioned as a contained relational micro-environment, allowing adults to practise observation, reflection, and co-regulation. This small, relationally focused context demonstrated that change occurs relationally, not procedurally. When adults embodied attunement, children naturally integrated safety, trust, and regulation into the wider environment (Schore, 2019).

6.1.5 Implications for Practice

The study highlights several key implications for ECE practice: embedding adult reflective practice alongside pedagogical skills is essential; observation of play must consider symbolic meaning and emotional communication; and team culture and adult relational safety directly influence children's behaviour (Rockel and Fryer, 2016).

This study also raises a question that extends beyond the children: what do adults themselves need in order to begin this kind of relational growth? The answer is not more training programmes or resources, but the same conditions they are being asked to offer children. They need safety, attunement, and a relational space in which they can reflect without judgement. Just as children cannot regulate alone, adults cannot grow alone. Maguire (2024) offers practical grounding here, showing that adults can learn to widen their own window of tolerance and reset their nervous systems, and that this internal work must come before they can truly co-regulate with a child in distress. The sector needs to ask not only how we support children, but how we hold the adults who hold them.

6.2 Reflections and Limitations

This case study offers rich insights into one centre's experience, highlighting the transformative potential of relational, nervous-system-informed practice. Limitations include the small sample size, context-specific findings, and reliance on qualitative observation and reflection. Long-term sustainability and broader application require further research.

6.3 Conclusion

This study confirms the hypothesis: when educators become aware of their own emotional patterns, they can better perceive and respond to children's true needs. Through relational attunement, reflection, and trust, adults shaped an environment where children felt safe, seen, and supported. Children’s challenging behaviours were revealed as communication, and their internal states were addressed not through control, but through adult presence and attunement (Tardos, 2010; Porges, 2011; Siegel, 2012).

Ultimately, change began within the adults. When educators feel safe, seen, and supported, they can cultivate environments in which children can explore, express, and grow. By embodying the Pikler approach and Interplay principles, educators can foster relational healing, emotional resilience, and a culture of respect, outcomes that ripple beyond the micro-environment, impacting the broader centre and the lives of both children and adults.

A Final Word: Some Misunderstood Children Need More

I want to end this thesis not with an academic conclusion but with the reason I wrote it. In Aotearoa New Zealand, children with intense and challenging behaviours are too often treated as problems to be managed, numbers in a budget, or cases for referral. I have worked in this sector long enough to know that the system, despite the good hearts within it, does not always make space for what these children actually need.

What this case study showed me, again, is that these children are not broken. They are communicating. And when an adult sits with them, truly sits with them, regulated, present, and genuinely curious, their mana returns. No strategies required.

I no longer work in ECE in New Zealand. I made that choice because I could not reconcile what I know about children with what the system increasingly asks of those who care for them. But I have not lost hope.

I wrote this thesis because I want it to be read by someone who has the power to change something. To the Ministry of Education, to policy makers, to centre owners navigating impossible pressures: some misunderstood children need more. Not more strategies. Not more interventions. Not more paperwork. More presence. More adults who have done their own inner work and can therefore truly see the child in front of them.

That is what the Pikler approach taught me. And that is what I hope this thesis leaves behind.

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Notes

Interplay is a relational and neurobiologically informed approach developed by Donna Berry (Rego), an Australian practitioner who works internationally. It is designed to support children's emotional regulation through attuned adult presence, symbolic play, and co-regulation. It is not a therapeutic intervention but a relational lens that listens beneath behaviour to the unmet emotional needs being communicated. Interplay is used in this thesis as a complementary framework alongside the Pikler approach, not as a replacement for it.

Dance With Me in the Heart is a framework developed by the late Pennie Brownlee, a passionate advocate for the wellbeing of babies, children, and parents who designed workshops and conferences facilitating significant cultural shifts in personal and professional practices. She designed an intensive course in 2005 and in 2008 wrote Dance With Me in the Heart: An Adult's Guide to Great Infant-Parent Partnerships. Her work centred on heart-centred partnerships with babies, children, adults, and the earth. Deeply influenced by the Pikler approach, she was among the first to bring these ideas into the New Zealand early childhood context, adapting them with sensitivity to the local cultural landscape. Her legacy continues to guide practitioners across Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.

Earned secure attachment refers to the capacity of an adult who experienced insecure attachment in childhood to develop a secure attachment style through intentional personal work, therapeutic relationships, and reflective practice. It is distinct from continuous secure attachment, which develops from a secure early childhood. The author identifies as having moved from fearful avoidant to earned secure attachment over the course of her Pikler training journey.

Te Wheke is a Māori model of holistic wellbeing developed by Dr Rose Pere. It represents wellbeing as a whole being, physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, and collective, through the image of an octopus, where each tentacle represents a dimension of health and each is connected to the whole. It is referenced in this thesis because of its deep compatibility with the Pikler approach's emphasis on the child as a whole person within relationships.

Mana is a Māori concept referring to a person's dignity, identity, authority, and inner power. In this thesis it is used to describe what returns to a child when their emotional needs are genuinely met and they are truly seen by an attuned adult.

Aotearoa New Zealand is the bicultural name for New Zealand, reflecting both the Māori name Aotearoa and the English name New Zealand. The use of both names reflects the author's commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the place of Māori as tangata whenua, the indigenous people of this land.

References

Note: All references below have been verified as real, published works. Where unpublished manuscripts are cited (Berry, 2020), the author has confirmed the existence of the work. Readers wishing to access unpublished works should contact the author directly.

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., and Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Berry, D. (2020). Interplay: A relational and neurobiologically informed approach to supporting children's emotional regulation. Unpublished manuscript. [Contact author for access.]

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. Basic Books. (Original work published 1969)

Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. Gotham Books.

Brownlee, P. (2013). Dance with me in the heart: The adult guide to great infant-parent partnerships (4th ed.). Ako Books/Playcentre Publications.

Delahooke, M. (2019). Beyond behaviours: Using brain science and compassion to understand and solve children's behavioural challenges. PESI Publishing.

Desautels, L. (2019). Connection over compliance: Rewiring our perceptions of discipline. Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing.

Gobbel, R. (2023). Raising kids with big, baffling behaviors: Brain-body-sensory strategies that really work. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Hatam, S., Moss, S., Cubillo, C., & Berry, D. (2021). Treating children with disinhibited social engagement disorder symptoms: Filial therapy. European Psychiatry, 64(S1), S640. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.1700

Maguire, J. (2024). The nervous system reset: Heal trauma, resolve chronic pain, and regulate your emotions with the power of the vagus nerve. Balance/Hachette.

Maté, G. (2019). The myth of normal: Trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture. Vermilion.

Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: Early childhood curriculum. Learning Media.

Pere, R. (1991). Te Wheke: A celebration of infinite wisdom. Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand.

Pikler, E. (2006). Unfolding of infants natural gross motor development. Resources for Infant Educarers.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton and Company.

Rockel, J., and Fryer, N. (2016). Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others: Exploring the socio-emotional aspects of reciprocity in early relationships. He Kupu, 4(4), 72-80. Retrieved from https://www.hekupu.ac.nz

Schore, A. N. (2019). The development of the unconscious mind. W. W. Norton.

Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: Toward a neurobiology of interpersonal experience. Guilford Press.

Siegel, D. J. (2012). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Tardos, A. (2007). From the hands of the caretaker. In É. Kálló (Ed.), Bringing up and providing care for infants and toddlers in an institution (pp. 55–62). Pikler-Lóczy Társaság.

Tardos, A. (2010). Introducing the Piklerian developmental approach: History and principles. The Signal: Newsletter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, 18(3-4), 1-5. Retrieved from https://perspectives.waimh.org

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Bibliography

The following works informed the thinking, personal journey, and professional development underlying this thesis, though they are not directly cited in the text.

Brownlee, P., & Crisp, K. (n.d.). The sacred urge to play: Unfolding your child's intelligence, imagination, creativity and joy for life. Good Egg Books.

Brownlee, P. (2015). Magic places: An adult's guide to young children's creativity (3rd ed.). Good Egg Books.

Delahooke, M. (2022). Brain-body parenting: How to stop managing behaviour and start raising joyful, resilient kids. Sheldon Press.

Gibson, T. (2020). Attachment theory: A guide to strengthening the relationships in your life. Callisto Media.

Lessa Stewart, F. (n.d.). Interplay Family Therapy Australia: An understanding of the approach. Interplay Family Therapy Australia.

Maté, G. (2019). Hold on to your kids: Why parents need to matter more than peers (Rev. ed.). Vintage Canada.

Porges, S. W. (2021). Polyvagal safety: Attachment, communication, self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The new science of personal transformation. Bantam Books.

Siegel, D. J., & Bryson, T. P. (2012). The whole-brain child: 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture your child's developing mind. Delacorte Press.

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Appendix A: The Centre Environment

A Note on the Centre Context

I wish to make special mention of the centre owner where this case study was completed. She had been mentored by Pennie Brownlee for 22 years, and when she took over ownership of the centre, she put in enormous effort to create an environment that acknowledged the stress that can be hidden within physical spaces, routines, and rhythms.

Her dedication made both the case study and this thesis possible. By the time I arrived, she had already completed a year of careful, intentional environmental transformation and had observed a meaningful reduction in dysregulated behaviours as a result. This meant I could enter the space with confidence, listening closely to the messages that the remaining misunderstood children were still communicating.

The Environment After Transformation

The photographs below show the centre environment as it was when I arrived. What is immediately striking is the quality of slowness the space communicates. Outdoors, natural loose parts, including large cable reels, wooden barrels, bark chips underfoot, and native grasses and flax along the fences, create an environment that invites exploration without dictating it. There are no brightly coloured plastic structures demanding attention. Instead, children are offered space, weight, texture, and rhythm. Fabric hammocks suspended under a shade sail offer vestibular comfort, the felt sense of being held and gently rocked, which is particularly regulating for children whose nervous systems are often in a state of high alert.

Indoors, the environment speaks the same language. A quiet corner holds a single armchair beneath the word Whanaungatanga, meaning relationship, belonging, and connection to others. A low table holds stones and natural objects, placed as an invitation rather than an instruction. Rainbow silks and more loose parts offer beauty and an open-ended sensory experience. The fish tank offers something living to simply be beside. Mealtimes are set with real crockery, fresh fruit, and flowers, communicating to children that they are worthy of care, rhythm, and dignity.

Pikler's influence is visible throughout: the environment is prepared with deep intentionality, then stepped back from. Adults do not need to manage or entertain, because the space itself holds the children.

The Environment Before Transformation

The earlier photographs tell a different story. Bright green walls, heavily cluttered display boards covered in commercial signage, hanging plastic decorations, and rows of chairs at formal tables created an environment of visual noise and implicit demand. Outdoors, a bare and dusty yard offered little invitation for purposeful movement or quiet exploration.

This is not a criticism of those who came before. It reflects the dominant paradigm of many ECE settings, where busyness and display are often mistaken for quality. What the centre owner recognised, guided by Pennie Brownlee's teachings and her own deepening understanding of nervous system regulation, is that the environment itself communicates safety or stress to a child's body before any adult interaction occurs.

Her year of transformation, replacing, removing, simplifying, and enriching, was itself an act of relational care. It created the conditions in which the Interplay sessions could take root, and in which the children in this study could finally begin to be truly heard.

Appendix B: The Case Study in Action

What stays with me, and what continues to move me even now, is how completely these children were attuned to the play objects I brought with me. I had many conversations with the centre owner and the team about how my play objects did not look like Pikler's. And that was exactly the point.

These children had needs that went beyond what the centre environment, however beautifully transformed, could meet. Their dysregulation was contagious to others in the space, and they needed a contained relational environment where their full emotional range could be met without consequence. The foam swords allowed highly dysregulated play right to the top of their window of tolerance. This was not chaos. This was communication. My role was to attune to them, to truly see them, and then to co-regulate them back into a regulated state, over and over again, until they trusted that process and trusted me.

What astonishes me still is what happened once the need for safety and protection was genuinely met. The play shifted dramatically, moving from high-intensity combat and control themes into nurturing, care, and connection. This gave me a profound window into each child's inner world and their understanding of how relationships work. It confirmed something I had not been taught in my ECE training: when a need is truly met, the behaviour that was created to communicate that need simply disappears. For this understanding, I owe deep gratitude to Donna Berry (Rego), whose Interplay framework gave me the lens to see and interpret what was unfolding.

The Session Space

The photographs show the room used for the Interplay sessions, a space within the centre where the door could be closed, protecting the children's time and ensuring no interruption. The session is captured through the window so as not to disturb the relational space within. The room after a session tells its own story: play materials spread across the floor, used freely and fully, evidence of a child who had been given permission to be exactly where they were.

The Key Symbolic Moment

One photograph I replicated after the children had left captures what I consider the central symbolic moment of this case study. A large bear, representing safety, had been placed by the children over what they called the "baddies jail." All language and all arrangements were created entirely by the children. My role was to witness and to interpret the unsaid.

Once the children experienced the adults in the room as safe, the play transformed. The second photograph shows a larger dog figure guiding smaller puppies beneath a wooden arc, sheltered and contained. These play objects had been in my suitcase throughout all the sessions, but they were only brought out once the children's need for emotional safety had been attuned to. No adult created or directed this play. It arose naturally, and it repeated until the underlying need had been integrated, consistent with Interplay principles as developed by Donna Berry.

This is what Pikler means by trusting the process. When adults are present, attuned, and patient, children do not need to be directed toward health. They move toward it themselves.

Appendix C: Data Protection Disclaimer

This thesis was conducted in accordance with ethical principles of informed consent, confidentiality, and respect for all participants.

All children who participated in the Interplay sessions described in this thesis have been fully anonymised. No names or identifying details have been included. All photographs that show children have had facial features obscured by the author prior to inclusion in this thesis, ensuring that no child can be identified from any image. Photographs of the physical environment and play materials are included without alteration as no children appear in these images.

Informed consent was obtained from the centre owner, the teaching team, and the parents or guardians of all participating children prior to the commencement of the case study. Participants were informed of the nature and purpose of the study, their right to withdraw at any time, and the manner in which information would be used and stored.

All session observations, reflective notes, and personal communications referenced in this thesis are held securely by the author and will not be shared beyond the requirements of this certification process. In accordance with New Zealand privacy legislation, all personal data collected during this study has been handled with care, stored safely, and will be destroyed appropriately upon completion of the certification process.

The author declares that this research has been conducted with the wellbeing and dignity of all participants, particularly the children, as the highest priority at all times.

Appendix D: Author Declaration

I, Donna Stichbury, hereby declare that this final thesis, submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for certification as a Pikler® Pedagogue, is my own original work. All sources consulted have been acknowledged in the references and bibliography. The ideas, observations, reflections, and case study analysis presented in this thesis are my own, informed by my professional experience, personal journey, and the mentorship I have received throughout my Pikler® training.

I understand that this thesis may be read by the Pikler® House Budapest team and associated trainers as part of the certification and defence process.

Name: Donna Stichbury

Location: New Zealand