Dr Olive Jonston

Cosideration from child psychology :

Dr Olive Johnston MBBS DCH
(Australia)
The service group she belonged to is Soroptimist International:
https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/
 

As I review my life my main feeling is one of gratitude.
I grew up in a loving Christian family and learnt to give and take and to be tolerant of different opinions.
I discovered that helping others was the most rewarding way of life for me, and that hard work brought its own reward.
Perhaps because money was tight when I was growing up in the years of the Great Depression 1929-1939, I appreciate the good things of life more than those growing up in the present affluent society.

There have been huge changes in the world since I was born.
The motor car has replaced the horse and cart, electricity replaced gaslight and candles, jet planes replaced ships and trains for long journeys, and radio and television revolutionised home entertainment.
No longer do we sit around the piano for a sing-song.
The mobile phone and computers have revolutionised everything… 
There will be more huge changes in the lifetimes of my children and grandchildren.
Climate change, overpopulation and weapons of mass destruction are threats to all of us. I hope they will survive and contribute to the changes necessary to bring about a better world.

To my children and grandchildren I would say:

'Believe in yourself, set yourself goals and strive towards them.’

In the words of Socrates;

'To know thyself will set you free.'

Or in the words of Jesus;

'The truth will set you free.'

And

'A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another.'

Dr Olive Johnston, June 2005, Adelaide, South Australia (Extracted from Olive’s Story, A Doctor’s Life on Three Continents, Peacock Publications, Norwood, 2006)


            
 






Kyoko Watanabe
General hospital / dermatologist (Japan)


I have two daughters.
My eldest has been learning the piano since the age of five. She dislikes daily practice but because I want good outcomes, I continue to encourage her. As a result, our relationship is sometimes strained.

My second daughter has been watching this, and said that she doesn't want to play the piano. Instead she started learning to paint.

Piano pieces have a fixed pitch and speed and the performer needs to adhere to the rules.
Art is not so black and white, and no matter how you draw the subject, failure is impossible.

I still don't know how each lesson will affect our daughters in the future.
However, I believe that parents and children get more happiness from the fluidity of art, rather than aiming for fixed correct answers when raising children.

Shonan Fujisawa Tokushukai
General Hospital Dermatology Department

Ms. Kyoko Watanabe


私には２人の娘がいます。長女は5歳からピアノを習わせました。
毎日の練習を嫌がったりしましたが、上手になってほしいと私も一生懸命やらせ、親子関係が険悪になったこともありました。

次女はその姿を見ていて、自分はピアノはやりたくないといい、絵を習い始めました。
ピアノ曲には決められた音程や速さがあり、それを出来るように練習しなくてはなりません。絵には正解はなく、題材をどう描いても失敗やだめなことはありません。

ピアノの発表会は緊張でピリピリしますが、絵の発表会はいろいろな作品があってほんわかしています。娘たちにとってそれぞれの習い事が将来、どのような影響を与えるかまだわかりません。

でも、子育ては、決められた正解を目指すより、絵を描くように、何でもOKと考えるほうが親子とも幸せかなと今は思います。