Early socialization is a progressive process by which children leave the comforts of home and interact other children who are different from them. The goal is for children to encounter each other without losing themselves or diminishing their ability to interact intelligently with the world around them. Group life and difficulties relating to others do not frighten a child who can live outside the presence of his or her mother. Thus a child’s narcissism is not eroded every time something unfortunate occurs. However, the goal is not to modify children’s behaviour so that they conform to a norm.
La Maison buissonnière’s approach is in line with that of La Maison verte. We are not trying to teach children how to act with others, nor to passively submit to adults who are imposing rules (that they do not necessarily follow themselves), just because adults are stronger or should be appeased. We are not suggesting that separation from family should be something that children simply resign themselves to. We are simply creating conditions that allow children to be themselves around other children, find their own ways to resolve conflicts and have fun communicating with others, without getting confused about their own distinctiveness.