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Abstract
This article focuses on the question: how do children experience atmospheres? A literary excerpt shows that children have no distance to their surroundings and therefore can be influenced and shaped by atmospheres to a much higher degree than adults. This view is supported by some recent neuroscientific studies. Atmospheres could turn out to be a forming influence in the child´s development, even slightly modifying the bodily constitution of later life. This puts a deep responsibility on parents and pedagogical staff. As a pedagogical task we must investigate what kind of atmospheres can contribute to a healthy way of bringing up our children. Can we facilitate development by creating appropriate atmospheres? Regarding the surroundings of children, what consequences must be drawn concerning the architectural space, the choice of light and materials according to the atmospheres they radiate? In addition, pedagogical interaction with the child must be looked at as a continuous arising and changing of atmospheres. In this essay, first attempts are made to find a conscious approach to atmospheres in a pedagogical context and to elaborate criteria for atmosphere design in pedagogy and related fields of work.