Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood

There are days when I am surrounded by plush toys and I look back on days of yesterday that I start to feel like Christopher Robin. Then there are days when I work in a classroom of extraordinary students that bring a different type of energy to the environment that I know for certain that I have entered the Hundred Acre Wood.

Sarah Shea examined a different neurosis for each character in her NIH article, “Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne”. It is comical at times when stating that the bear is fixated on honey and acts on impulse while the young boy is the most neurotypical of the whole group, yet he spends his days with imaginary friends and talks to stuffed animals.

However, it rings true that several of the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood demonstrate pretty interesting personality types. Pooh has an uncontrollable addiction to honey; Rabbit likes everything orderly—too orderly; Eeyore is always sad; Piglet has a nervous energy; and Tigger has way too much energy. It goes to show that when all these characters are placed in the same environment, A. A. Milne shows a glimpse into a child's fantasy land while opening up a safe space environment for grown-ups.

The demarcation line between childhood and adulthood could be the moment when the Hundred Acre Wood stopped being a playground for friends and became a society where labels were given for disorders we never knew existed as children.


“Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne”. Sarah E. Shea. 2010. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC80580/



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