Please Don’t Take The Babies (Respecting Infant/Toddler Readiness)
Dear Janet I’m not a parent so my question has a different angle, but I was still hoping for your opinion and advice. I work in a childcare centre where I am the primary caregiver of 5 infants and...
View ArticleRespect, Trust, Acceptance – Magda Gerber’s Therapeutic Approach To Child Care
I was a newbie mom just beginning my studies with infant expert Magda Gerber when I first read Gloria Ohland’s story about Magda in her “Local Heroes” column at LA Weekly, and it resonated deeply. It...
View ArticleEncouraging Baby’s Self-Directed Play
Hello Janet, I have found the basic tenets of RIE philosophy to be very intuitive. I naturally see my 5.5 month son as an independent and individual human being who is, for the time being, dependent on...
View ArticleThe Truth About Infant Self-Soothing
Infant self-soothing is often misrepresented by descriptive terms like tough love, crying it out, leaving babies to “deal with it” on their own, and even neglect. Apparently there are people who...
View Article10 Secrets To Raising Less Stressed Kids
A couple of years ago I was driving my daughter home from high school, and she shared something from her Human Development class that day. The students were asked to draw an illustration of their...
View ArticleNo Angry Kids – Fostering Emotional Literacy In Our Children
“Remember, crying is a baby’s language – it is a way to express pain, anger, and sadness. Acknowledge the emotions your baby is expressing. Let him know he has communicated.” – Magda Gerber, Dear...
View ArticleThe Happiest Babies Aren’t Shushed, Swung or Scheduled
There are many routes to successful parenting. Here’s how one mom found hers: Janet – first let me thank you for all that you do. I always envisioned the kind of connection I wanted to have with my...
View ArticleBonding With Babies – Where RIE and Attachment Parenting Differ
“I have only recently found your blog and been introduced to RIE and I must say a lot of it really resonates with me and makes beautiful sense! I have to admit I’m having a little trouble with the...
View ArticleThe Curse of Respectful Parenting
The younger the child, the harder it is for her to show us who she is and to communicate her needs and capabilities. This means babies are ripe for our projections. What we see – or what we think we...
View ArticleThe Subtleties of Baby Sleep (4 Important Things To Know)
“The word ‘sleep’ wakes up even the sleepiest baby.” – Magda Gerber, Your Self-Confident Baby Magda Gerber’s assertion might seem far-fetched, but recent scientific studies (by Gopnik, Bloom, Spelke...
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Outdoor Play Spaces
As a self-professed child-directed play fanatic, the only thing I value more for children than safe “yes” spaces are places they can safely and freely explore outdoors. I’m definitely with child...
View ArticleYour Presence is Enough
Young children can make us feel insanely popular. Their relentless requests for our attention begin at birth, and we remain in high demand throughout the toddler, preschool, early grade school years....
View ArticleAn Infant’s Powerful Moment
One of the greatest challenges for parents and professionals practicing mindful care is allowing children to struggle as they develop skills. It is far easier for us to do for them than it is to trust...
View Article7 Happiness Tools We Can Give Our Children
Our second daughter started college this fall. She’s an old soul who’s always strummed to her own beat, so it wasn’t surprising that she’d found high school restrictive and uninspiring, both...
View ArticleWhat To Do Instead of Rocking
There’s an old fashioned type of rocking that I appreciate but don’t hear much about these days. It is slow, gentle, and relaxing for both parent and child. There might be quiet conversation or...
View ArticleParenting Made Easier
Every so often I receive a critical comment along the lines of this one: “…reading things such as “I asked my baby if she wanted me to lift her up and with the slightest nod of yes, I did” (not exact...
View Article4 Reasons to Relax About Sibling Toy Taking
“I recommend that you intervene minimally in disputes between siblings. If the age gap is large or a younger child might get hurt, more supervision is needed. The more they can work out on their own,...
View ArticleThe Parenting Practice That Matters Most
Respectful parenting differs from other approaches in several essential ways, and they all center on a pivotal and now (finally!) scientifically proven view of infants as aware, sentient, whole people....
View ArticleWhen Babies Get Tired of Tummy Time
Back in 2011, I shared on this space “The Case Against Tummy Time”, a perspective by Feldenkrais practitioner Irene Lyon that remains one of my most controversial posts. Many have voiced disagreement...
View ArticleThe Secret to Helping Kids Take Medicine (Without a Spoonful of Sugar)
In Your Self-Confident Baby, child specialist Magda Gerber shares the story of her transformative introduction to the respectful care approach of pediatrician Dr. Emmi Pikler: “One day my older...
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